China’s latest actions towards Taiwan after the visit by US Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island nation has grabbed the front headlines all over the world. China sees the diplomatic visit by the US official as an intrusion into its plans of invading Taiwan. The concerns that China could order a strike on the self-ruling island are so high that the US has passed a $100 million support contract aimed at boosting the island’s missile defense systems for maintaining the political stability and the military balance in the region. But while Taiwan has proved to be the most troubling flashpoint in recent months, there are 13 other nations that are involved in territorial disputes with China.
How many countries are involved in territorial disputes with China?
Check the details of 13 countries that have been involved in territorial disputes with China.
1. The Philippines
In November last year, Chinese vessels had blocked and used water cannons on two Philippine supply boats that were heading to a disputed shoal occupied by Filipino marines in the South China Sea. The hostility which triggered an angry protest from Manila was the latest flare-up in the South China Sea with China claiming virtually the entire waterway.
Manila is facing a deadlock in a dispute that it cannot resolve alone and while the armed conflict directly involving the Philippines is unlikely, there remains a growing potential for incidents at sea to escalate.
2. Vietnam
In another South China Sea dispute, China and Vietnam have long faced ‘maritime territorial disputes over the Spratly Islands and the Paraceal Islands. Despite resolving the issue through diplomacy, breakthroughs have proven elusive.
3. Japan
China and Japan have repeatedly clashed over a group of uninhabited islands called the Senkaku islands in Tokyo, the Diaoyu Islands in Beijing, and the Tiaoyutai islands in Taiwan. China began raising the questions of sovereignty over the islands in the 1970s when evidence of oil reserves in the region surfaced.
For some years, Beijing has been aggravating tensions by increasing the presence of the China Coast Guard vessels in the contiguous zone of the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands.
4. Nepal
China has also been accused of encroaching on Nepal’s territory along the two countries' shared border. As per the leaked government report, China has been trespassing in the district of Humla, in the far west of Nepal.
5. Bhutan
China shares a contiguous border of 292 miles with Bhutan and the territorial disputes have been a source of potential conflict. Since the 1980s, the two governments have conducted regular talks on the issues.
6. India
China has a disagreement with India over its land border in the Himalayas. Both the countries fought a bloody war in 1962, ending in a ceasefire that led to the establishment of the Line of Control.
7. Indonesia
The issue between China and Indonesia is another South China Sea dispute. China has repeatedly demanded that Indonesia halt an oil and natural gas project in the region claiming that the efforts to extract the natural resources are an infringement on its territorial waters.
8. Laos
Laos has a 313-mile border with China that runs from the tripoint with Myanmar in the west to the tripoint with Vietnam in the east. China alleges that it owns large parts of Laos on a historical precedent dating back to the Yuan Dynasty.
9. Myanmar
As per the reports by China, the residents of Myanmar’s northern shan state had destroyed a fence built by the Chinese authorities claiming it encroaches on their country’s territories. As per the experts, if the issues go unresolved it could seriously damage the relations between the communities living in two nations.
10. Tibet
After Taiwan, Tibet is perhaps China’s most well-known territorial dispute. In 1950, China enforced a long-held claim on the Himalayan country and incorporated it with its own territory. After an unsuccessful uprising in 1959, Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama fled to India where he had set up a government in exile.
11. Singapore
Singapore and China have also clashed over their claim in the South China Sea. It particularly takes issues with building airstrips and hangars, as well as stationing the anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems in the Spratly Islands.
12. Brunei
The small Islamic nation has been long described as the silent claimant to areas in the South China Sea because it keeps a low profile in major disputes.
Reportedly, China has bought its silence over the territorial issues because of an influx of investment that coincided with the suppression of anything that might be deemed mildly critical of China.
13. Mongolia
In 2015, China claimed an attack on one of its remote checkpoints in Inner Mongolia was because of a provincial border dispute. The area in question is said to be claimed by both Inner Mongolians and residents of neighboring Gansu Province.
