{"id":1236,"date":"2023-10-24T03:59:14","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T19:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/2023\/10\/24\/five-most-contentious-border-disputes-on-the-planet\/"},"modified":"2024-06-03T23:26:51","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T15:26:51","slug":"five-most-contentious-border-disputes-on-the-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/five-most-contentious-border-disputes-on-the-planet\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Most Contentious Border Disputes on the Planet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are five of the most contentious border standoffs on the planet.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Chinese and Indian troops who patrol disputed borderlands<\/a> between their two countries typically\u00a0hold up banners\u00a0declaring their rights over the contested area, and let better-placed diplomats exchange hostile threats. But a border standoff between the world\u2019s two most populous nations recently devolved into hand-to-hand combat and\u00a0stone-throwing\u00a0high in the\u00a0Himalayas.<\/p>\n

Modern warfare has made such face-offs increasingly rare, but at disputed borders around the world, soldiers and civilians alike live each day in plain view (and within spitting distance) of their adversaries.<\/p>\n

From underground barriers blocking Palestinian tunnels into Israel, to nuclear superpowers trading threats and rocks, to North Korean soldiers yanking South Korean soldiers through open doors along the DMZ, borders are a constant source of tension, hostility, and sometimes even war.<\/p>\n

Here are five of the most contentious border standoffs on the planet.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

INDIA, CHINA<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Border<\/p>\n

LADAKH, INDIA – AUGUST 05: A convoy of Indian army moves towards border in Pangong close to Chinese border, India.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Yawar Nazir\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\n

The heated dispute between the two nuclear powers, which has seen hundreds of troops face off along the 2,500-mile border, is centered on an obscure 34-square-mile area known as the Dolam Plateau. Claimed by both Bhutan and China, the area includes a narrow strip of strategically important Indian land called the Siliguri Corridor, unaffectionately<\/a> nicknamed the \u201cchicken\u2019s neck.\u201d<\/p>\n

This connects the bulk of India with the remote eastern part of the country. The Indian government has long feared\u00a0China could cut across\u00a0the corridor if war broke out, cleaving the country in half.<\/p>\n

Tensions kicked up in June when Chinese troops began work on an unpaved road that encroached on territory belonging to Bhutan, a close ally of India.<\/p>\n

High up in the Himalayas, as India celebrated its Independence Day, dozens of Indian and Chinese soldiers engaged in a bizarre melee of fists and rocks for several hours before both sides retreated.<\/p>\n

The embarrassing exchange was the latest escalation amid mounting tensions that stirred China to threaten India with \u201cgreater losses than in 1962,\u201d a reference to India\u2019s inglorious defeat the last time both sides went to war over borders. It was short, but it still resulted in more than 2,000 casualties.<\/p>\n

The recent escalation in tensions has led to a war of words on either side of the border, with China\u00a0claiming\u00a0\u201cit is easier to shake the mountains than to shake the [Chinese army],\u201d adding that the military \u201cwill preserve our sovereign territory and security interests at all costs.\u201d Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has responded\u00a0saying\u00a0his country is \u201ccapable and \u2026strong enough to overcome those who try to act against our country.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n<\/strong>Given that China and India are the world\u2019s two most populous countries and have\u00a0380 nuclear weapons\u00a0between then, any escalation in tensions should be a matter for concern \u2014 especially as both sides have been talking openly about armed conflict.<\/p>\n

China has the world\u2019s longest land border, so it\u2019s no surprise it has had a number of border disputes. Historically China has fought with Russia and India, but in recent years Tibet and Vietnam have also felt its wrath.<\/p>\n

\"Border<\/p>\n

Image: Vice News<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

NORTH KOREA, SOUTH KOREA<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

North Korean soldiers (far) watch the south side as senior members (front) of the United Nations Command pose for a souvenir photo after attending a commemorative ceremony for the 64th anniversary of the Korean armistice at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas July 27, 2017.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: REUTERS\/Jung Yeon-Je\/Pool<\/p>\n

\n

Possibly the most famous border standoff of all, North and South Korean soldiers have been separated by just a few feet for more than 60 years, when the peninsula was split in two following the end of the Korean War in 1953.<\/p>\n

The line is so precarious that South Korean soldiers\u00a0still hold hands\u00a0when opening rarely used conference rooms in the joint security area of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) as a precaution against being\u00a0pulled over the border\u00a0by North Korean soldiers.<\/p>\n

And tensions along the 160-mile border have rarely been higher, as Pyongyang\u2019s saber-rattling has intensified amid a flurry of missile tests.<\/p>\n

In recent months Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have visited the DMZ, staring down North Korean troops while ensconced in clusters of U.S. and South Korean soldiers.<\/p>\n

The DMZ is filled with fences and concrete barriers, mines and tunnels, as well as nervous troops with their fingers on the trigger. During the 1960s hundreds of troops on both sides died in skirmishes, but in recent years, while the atmosphere has remained tense, there has been little violence.<\/p>\n

The standoff is deadly serious, but it occasionally descends into farce. After South Korea raised its flag on a 323-foot flagpole in the 1980s, the North responded with one measuring 525 feet, a feud that became known as the\u00a0Flagpole War.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

FINLAND, RUSSIA<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Border<\/p>\n

Finnish and Russian customs officers at the International Automobile Nujamaa Border-crossing Point on the Russian-Finnish border.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Alexei Danichev\/Sputnik via AP<\/p>\n

\n

Like China, Russia has a long history of border confrontations, and few are as contentious is the 833-mile border it shares with Finland. Disputes over the border date back to the 14th century, when Finland was part of Sweden, and more recently during the Cold War the border formed part of the Iron Curtain, with the Soviet Union setting up border surveillance 75 miles out to prevent escapes.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year Finland\u00a0announced\u00a0a major increase in its military spending, including boosting its troop levels by 20 percent. The expansion of the Finnish military was a direct response to Russia\u2019s annexation of Crimea and the buildup of its military in the Baltic Sea region.<\/p>\n

Tensions have been rising for some time. In 2015, Finland\u2019s military\u00a0firedwarning shots at a suspected Russian submarine in waters off Helsinki. At the time, Russia had been conducting widespread military exercises on the ground and in the air near the Finnish border.<\/p>\n

The 833-mile border runs mostly through uninhabited forests and sparsely populated rural areas.<\/p>\n

Both sides of the border are protected by border zones between 0.6 miles and 4.4 miles deep, which require a permit to enter. Four U.K. tourists found out the hard way what happens when you don\u2019t have a permit: The Birtons were booked on criminal charges in June, after taking a\u00a015-minute jaunt\u00a0into Russia to have a few beers.<\/p>\n

Russia is also involved in several other heated border disputes, the most famous being its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Prior to that Russia took control of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia following the five-day war in 2008.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

ISRAEL, GAZA STRIP<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Border<\/p>\n

A protester holds a Palestinian flag during clashes with Israeli troops at a protest against reducing power supply to Gaza, near the border with Israel in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip June 20, 2017. REUTERS\/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa – RTS17WD5A protester holds a Palestinian flag during clashes with Israeli troops at a protest against reducing power supply to Gaza, near the border with Israel in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip June 20, 2017.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: REUTERS\/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa<\/p>\n

\n

The line separating Israel from Gaza is one of the most brutal and closely scrutinized borders on the planet. That may soon extend to the subterranean, as Israel seeks to block tunnel passages underground.<\/p>\n

In May, Israel\u2019s Defense Ministry\u00a0closed the tender\u00a0to construct a concrete barrier to run the entire length of the Gaza border and prevent Hamas, the militant Islamic group that acts as a de facto government in Gaza, from tunneling into Israel. Israel has one of the most robustly militarized borders, with an above-ground security barrier already in place and its\u00a0Iron Domedefense system protecting the skies.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s strict lockdown of the border not only prevents weapons and explosives from crossing into Gaza, but also regulates the influx of building materials and other supplies. The result is that Gaza looks forever like a war zone, with dilapidated buildings the norm and critical infrastructure increasingly a rarity.<\/p>\n

Since the last Gaza war, in 2014, flare-ups along the border have been relatively rare. But as Gaza slips deeper into poverty and as Israel\u00a0tightens its power supply restrictions, analysts fear another war isn\u2019t too far off in the distance.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

SOUTH CHINA SEA<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Border<\/p>\n

Image: Reuters<\/p>\n

One contender for most heated and crowded border dispute isn\u2019t even on land. The battle for control of the South China Sea has been simmering for a number of years, with an increasing number of standoffs,\u00a0military exercises,and\u00a0diplomatic dustups\u00a0adding to the tension.<\/p>\n

\n

China has been the chief aggressor in recent years, asserting ever greater control over the waters, which include some of the most strategically important maritime territory on earth. In a bid to underline its territorial claims, Beijing has undertaken a widespread\u00a0island-building program, dredging up underwater sediment to establish small islands capable of holding military installations and airports.<\/p>\n

China claims ownership of pretty much the entire South China Sea, but its case wes significantly undermined in 2016 when an international tribunal in The Hague\u00a0sided with the Philippines, ruling that the \u201cnine dash\u201d line Beijing uses to claim its territory was invalid. China has rejected the tribunal\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei also claim part of the sea for their own. The ongoing disputes have become a major pressure point for the international community, given that\u00a0$3.4 trillion in goods pass\u00a0through the waters every year. Oh, and let\u2019s not forget there\u2019s supposedly\u00a0large oil and gas reserves underneath\u00a0the water.<\/p>\n

Just this month, the USS John S. McCain\u00a0carried out\u00a0a \u201cfreedom of navigation operation\u201d by sailing within 12 nautical miles of one of China\u2019s artificial islands \u2014 the third such operation since Donald Trump became president. The USS John S. McCain later\u00a0crashed\u00a0into an oil tanker in the region.<\/p>\n

Source: David Gilbert, Vice News<\/p>\n

URL: https:\/\/news.vice.com\/en_us\/article\/wjz79q\/the-5-most-contentious-border-standoffs-on-the-planet<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here are five of the most contentious border standoffs on the planet. Chinese and Indian troops who patrol disputed borderlands between their two countries typically\u00a0hold up banners\u00a0declaring their rights over …","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[60,646,306,29,34,27,30],"class_list":["post-1236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-china","tag-five-most-contentious-border-disputes-on-the-planet","tag-hiredchina","tag-jobs","tag-jobs-in-china","tag-news","tag-shopping"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9885,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236\/revisions\/9885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}