Territorial claims of NATO countries. Which countries have territorial claims to Russia: list

TERRITORIAL CLAIM - a claim by a state to any territory with the aim of establishing its sovereignty over it. etc. It can be bilateral or multilateral, when the same territory, the exact territory of which has not been established, is claimed by two or more states. In these cases, it occurs. For unilateral T.p. the applicant state does not doubt the legal status or affiliation of a given territory to a particular state, but for some reason believes that this affiliation should be changed. Such claims do not form a territorial dispute, since they are not based on a dispute about the legal rights of the parties (who have real rights and who have imaginary ones), but there is simply a desire of one side to change the territorial status quo. One-sided etc. can be expressed in the desire of a state to change in its favor the border established in accordance with international law without accurately defining the limits of the territory to which it claims. One-sided etc. may be considered as contrary to modern international law, since, according to its norms, all changes in the ownership of state territory are decided either on the basis of the principle of self-determination of peoples and nations, or by agreement of the relevant states. One-sided etc. poses a threat to the territorial integrity and inviolability, the sovereignty of the state whose borders are disputed, significantly worsens relations between the relevant states, and is fraught with the possibility of serious armed conflicts. Unilateral claims have been made by a number of states regarding Antarctica or parts of it. They are not recognized by other states, but are not rejected, but frozen under the Antarctic Treaty of 1959.

Economics and law: dictionary-reference book. - M.: University and school. L. P. Kurakov, V. L. Kurakov, A. L. Kurakov. 2004 .

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TERRITORIAL CLAIM- the claim of any state to any territory in order to establish its sovereignty over it. etc. can be bilateral and multilateral, when the same territory, the exact identity of which is not established,... ... Legal encyclopedia

territorial claim- when any state claims any territory in order to establish its sovereignty over it. etc. can be bilateral (multilateral), when two (or more) states claim the same territory. In these cases... ... Large legal dictionary

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Throughout the post-war period, relations between Japan and Russia were complicated by the problem of the northern territories. This problem needs to be studied in more detail in the context of the complete demarcation of Japan and Russia. This process began in the first half of the 19th century. It was then that the Japanese and Russians met near the Kuril Islands. Russian industrialists were most interested in fishing for marine animals, while the Japanese were mainly interested in fishing. The discovery of the Kuril Islands was carried out by the Russians back in the 18th century, after which they immediately began to develop these islands. This area was inhabited by the Ainu, who were brought under the citizenship of the Russian Tsar.

The conclusion of the first border treaty took place in 1855. According to this document, the northern part of the islands was assigned to Russia, while Japan owned their southern part. The demarcation took place along the island of Iturup. Sakhalin Island was declared indivisible.

The conclusion of a new treaty between Japan and Russia took place already in 1875. It was stated there that the northern Kuril Islands were transferred to Japan, and instead, the territory of the entire Sakhalin was transferred to Russia. Sakhalin was occupied during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-1905. Later, according to the peace treaty of Portsmouth, its southern part was given to Japan. During World War II, the Soviet Union managed to avoid participation in hostilities in the Far East only thanks to the signing of the Neutrality Pact, which was concluded in 1941.

Before the USSR entered the war with Japan, Stalin, during negotiations with the leadership of the countries included in the anti-Hitler coalition, stipulated a whole list of demands.

They concerned:

Return of the China Eastern Railway infrastructure, which was sold to the Japanese in 1935.
Return of the southern part of Sakhalin Island to the USSR.
Return of the USSR Kuril as compensation.
Renewal of lease rights to the Liaodong Peninsula along with the cities of Dalniy and Port Arthur, which were lost during the Russo-Japanese War.

In 1945, the USSR terminated the neutrality pact with Japan. During military operations, the Kuril Islands and South Sakhalin were liberated. A year later, these territories were included in the RSFSR. In 1951, Japan dropped its claims to the Kuril Islands and South Sakhalin.

In 1956, there was a consular and diplomatic uprising between Japan and the Soviet Union, after which the Soviet Union was willing to hand over the main Habomai range and Shikotan Island to Japan.

The situation that developed around the peace treaty with Japan in the period 1960-1990 was completely frozen. One of the parties constantly denied the existence of any territorial problems, and the second wanted to return its northern territories.

After the Soviet Union ended its existence, the Russian leadership wanted to establish a dialogue with the leadership of Japan, however, all attempts were unsuccessful.

After Vladimir Putin was elected to the presidency, a new stage began in the bilateral relations of the countries and a Russian-Japanese action plan was signed. According to this plan, the parties identified certain tasks:

Conducting joint economic activities on the islands;
To resolve any problems, intensify negotiation processes as much as possible;
Conducting joint cooperation in the field of marine biological resources;
The importance of the peace treaty must be explained to the population of both states;
Introduction of a visa-free regime between Japanese citizens and islanders.

According to the Academy’s first vice-president for geopolitical issues, K. Sivkov, Japan is fully confident that Russia has weakened and needs to be put under pressure in such areas as:

Direct force one-sided pressure.
Economic pressure through the use of the G7.
Massive information pressure - “Russia is the aggressor.”

In order to positively resolve its territorial issues, Japan has imposed sanctions against certain Russian organizations and some individuals that are related to military operations in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine.

The territory of the South Kuril Islands has a very advantageous strategic location, since they are located in ice-free straits on the way from the Sea of Okhotsk to the Pacific Ocean. In addition, offshore hydrocarbon deposits were found here.

Japan's claims to China

The main disagreement in Japanese-Chinese relations is the territorial dispute over Okinotori Island. Using artificial coral reefs, the Japanese are significantly increasing the territory of the island, which is even reported at the official level by the representative office of the Japanese Fisheries Administration. In the near future, the number of coral colonies may double, and there will be a lot of plantings of this kind, which could help resolve the dispute with China.

The Chinese authorities consider this island to be “rocks” and not an island at all, and they do not agree to recognize Japan’s international law to establish an economic zone around this land within a radius of 200 miles.

Another territorial standoff between Japan and China is over an archipelago that lies in the waters of the East China Sea. The dispute is that since 1885, the Japanese government has maintained that these islands are uninhabited and there is no trace of Chinese control over them. Based on these facts, in 1895, Japan officially incorporated the territory of the Senkaku Islands into its territory. At the end of World War II, Japan lost all its territories, including this island, which came under American jurisdiction. In 1970, the United States transferred the island to Japan, and 20 years later, the PRC decided to declare its categorical disagreement with this and a statement was made public that this was “originally Chinese” territory. This dispute continues between the countries to this day.

Japan's claims to Antarctica

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Japan declared claims to partial sovereignty over Antarctica. This happened due to the fact that during 1910-1912, the Japanese made the world's first expedition to those parts. The members of this expedition then reached the 80th parallel, where it intersects with the 156th meridian. The expedition was not able to advance further because its members were not ready for this. The place where they stopped was called Yamato Snow Valley, and the lands that were thus discovered were declared Japanese possessions. In 1939, Japan officially declared that the lands it discovered in Antarctica belonged to it.

According to the peace treaty, which was concluded in 1951 in San Francisco, Japan renounced its territorial claim to land in Antarctica. At the moment, no world state except Norway has territorial claims to Antarctica after the Antarctic Treaty was concluded. However, unofficially, Japan still has such claims and there is even a kind of justification for this. There are large hydrocarbon deposits in this region, but they are very deep. And Japan claims that only it can extract them, since only it has the necessary technology for this.

Russian-Japanese relations in the last decade have been complicated by a problem called the problem of the so-called northern territories. It should be considered in the context of the entire process of territorial demarcation between Russia and Japan.

This process began in the 1st half of the 19th century, when the Russians and Japanese met each other in the Kuril Islands area. These islands were of interest as a fishing area for marine animals for Russian industrialists. And for the Japanese who lived on the island of Hokkaido, they were a fishing zone.

The Kuril Islands were in the 17th century. discovered and mastered by the Russians. The indigenous population of the islands (Ainu) was brought under the citizenship of the Russian Tsar.

1855 - the first border treaty was concluded. The northern part of the Kuril Islands was assigned to Russia, the southern part to Japan. The demarcation point is Iturup Island. Sakhalin was declared an undivided territory.

In 1875, a new Russian-Japanese border treaty was concluded. All of Sakhalin went to Russia, and the northern part of the Kuril Islands to Japan.

During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. Japan first occupied all of Sakhalin, and then, under the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, received its southern part.

1941 - The Neutrality Pact is signed. This document made it possible to avoid the Soviet Union being drawn into hostilities in the Far East at the height of the Great Patriotic War.

During negotiations with Western partners in the anti-Hitler coalition, Stalin at the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam conferences stipulated the USSR's entry into the war with Japan with a number of demands. He demanded the return of the southern part of Sakhalin to the USSR and the restoration of the lease rights to the Liaodong Peninsula with the cities of Port Arthur and Dalny, lost after the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. In addition, the Kuril Islands and the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER), sold to Japan in 1935, were requested as compensation.

On April 5, 1945, the Soviet government announced the denunciation of the Neutrality Pact with Japan. During military operations, among other territories, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were liberated.

In 1946, these territories were included in the Sakhalin region of the RSFSR. The USSR received the cities of Port Arthur, Dalniy and the Chinese Eastern Railway under an agreement with China, and then returned them to the latter after the victory of the Chinese communists in the civil war.

1951 San Francisco - peace treaty with Japan, there was no USSR. Japan abandoned South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.

1956 - Joint Declaration of the USSR and Japan (restoration of diplomatic and consular relations between the two states). The USSR was ready to transfer to Japan part of the South Kuril Islands, namely the island of Shikotan and the Habomai island ridge. The Soviet leadership announced its rejection of the provisions of the Moscow Declaration of 1956.

From 1960 to the early 1990s. the situation around the peace treaty was frozen. The Soviet Union denied the existence of territorial problems, and in Japan the majority of political forces advocated the return of the “northern territories” (ITURUP, KUNASHIR, SHIKOTAN, HABOMAI), linking this issue with all other issues of the development of relations with the USSR.

In the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian leadership made efforts to intensify dialogue with Japan, but they never yielded tangible results.

A new stage in relations with Japan began after V. Putin became President of the Russian Federation. During the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Dz. Koizumi to Russia, he and V. Putin signed the Russian-Japanese Action Plan with the aim of giving a new quality to bilateral relations, which should correspond to the potential capabilities of both states.

Regarding the conclusion of a peace treaty and related territorial problems, the parties, within the framework of the adopted plan, identified the following tasks for themselves:

1) intensify negotiations in order to quickly resolve the remaining problems;

2) explaining to the public of the two countries the importance of concluding a peace treaty”;

3) further development of visa-free exchanges between island residents and Japanese citizens;

4) cooperation in the field of harvesting marine biological resources;

5) search for forms of joint economic activity in the area of the islands

Territorial claims to China

The stumbling block of Japanese-Chinese relations is the southernmost and strategically important island Okinotori. With the help of artificial coral reefs, the Japanese are expanding its territory, as officially reported by representatives of the Japanese Fisheries Administration. In the future, the number of coral colonies will increase $2$ times, and “tens of thousands” of such plantings will appear, and this will help resolve the dispute with the PRC.

China considers Okinotori " rocks", not an "island" and does not recognize the international law of Tokyo to establish a $200$-mile exclusive economic zone around this piece of land.

Another territorial dispute between countries concerns archipelago in the East China Sea. The essence of the dispute is that since 1885, the Japanese government has maintained that the islands are uninhabited and there are no traces of Chinese control over them. On this basis, in $1895, Japan officially included the Senkaku Islands into its composition. After World War II, it lost all its territories acquired in the 19th century, including the Senkakus, which came under US jurisdiction. In 1970, the Americans returned the islands to Japan. China in $1992, $20 years later, declared its disagreement and declared the territory “originally Chinese.” The territorial dispute between the countries continues.

Territorial claims in Antarctica

In the first half of the 20th century, Japan declared its claims to territorial sovereignty over part of Antarctica. Such claims are related to the fact that back in $1910$-$1912$. The Japanese made their first expedition to Antarctica. The expedition was led by Lieutenant Shirase Nobu. In January $1912, it reached the $80$ parallel at the point of its intersection with the $156$ meridian. The expedition was unable to advance further to the South Pole, and Nobu concluded that the team was not ready. The place where they stopped was called the Snowy Valley of Yamato and the open lands were declared the possessions of Japan. Japan officially declared its rights to open lands in Antarctica in 1939. The territorial claims concerned the space located between the Ross sector and the Falkland sector.

Under the Treaty of San Francisco, concluded in 1951, Japan renounced all territorial claims to rights or interests in any part of the Antarctic region. No state in the world today officially lays claim to the Mary Byrd Land and Ellsworth Land sectors, which were put forward before the Antarctic Treaty came into force. Only Norway makes claims to Peter the Great Island and Chile claims the eastern part to the $90$ meridian in the west. According to the Antarctic Treaty, Japan cannot make territorial claims in this zone - this is official, but unofficially such claims are made. Moreover, they have a peculiar justification related to the fact that the hydrocarbon deposits explored here are located at such great depths that no one except Japan will be able to mine them, because only Japan has the necessary technologies.

Note 2

The House of Representatives of the Japanese Diet in July 2015 passed a law to expand the powers of the Self-Defense Forces. Analysts believe that this law will enable the country to use the Self-Defense Forces in matters of territorial claims.

Territorial claims

The Arctic attracts many countries with its rich gas and oil reserves. Melting ice and general warming, according to scientists, can make the Arctic Ocean a busy transport route between Europe, Asia and America. A map of the possible territorial division of the region has been drawn up.

arctic struggle northern natural resource

The fight for the North Pole

In the late 50s, Canada claimed rights to the North Pole. Then the international court ruled that the territory could go to this country if, within 100 years, no one convincingly proves that the bottom of the Arctic Ocean belongs to it.

In 2004, Denmark announced that it has rights to the Earth's North Pole, since the pole is connected to Greenland by the two-thousand-kilometer Lomonosov Ridge, and Greenland itself is a semi-autonomous territory of the Danish kingdom.

“The Kremlin caused palpitations in the West by planting its national flag on the bottom of the Arctic Ocean under the North Pole in 2007, Russia thus wanted to demonstrate its territorial claims to the polar region.”

The Arctic is divided into sectors. The boundaries of these sectors are established along the edges of the territories of countries adjacent to the Arctic, connected to the center of the Arctic Pole. What is enshrined by the countries with northern borders in the corresponding document under the auspices of the UN.

Currently, the United States and Canada are organizing Arctic expeditions in order to prove their rights to a larger part of the Arctic shelf than they can dispose of today. The next such expeditions are planned for the summer of 2010; previously, two American-Canadian expeditions undertaken for this purpose were successfully completed. In 2001, Russia became the first of the five Arctic countries to apply to expand the boundaries of its continental shelf beyond the standard 322-kilometer limit. The UN rejected the application, citing a lack of evidence. Russia, in turn, said it plans to spend about 1.5 billion rubles ($50 million) in 2010 to determine the extent of its continental shelf in the Arctic.