Falkland Islands / Islas Malvinas
If comparative geographic distance was the prime arbiter of territorial disputes, Argentina would have a lock on the Falkland Islands or as they’re known by the South American claimants, Las Islas Malvinas. The islands, uninhabited at the time, were discovered by Dutch explorer Sebald de Weert in 1600. A series of claims and counter-claims involving some or all of the islands by Great Britain, France, Spain and Argentina then ensued before the UK formally declared sovereignty in 1833.
Argentina was in de facto control of the Falkland Islands in the early years of the 19th century, assuming Spain’s claims to the islands as the successor state to the Viceroyalty of the River Plate. The dispute then simmered for almost 150 years before Argentine forces invaded the islands in 1982, precipitating the Falklands War. Presently the 778 islands which together form the Falkland Islands archipelago are home to approximately 3,140 people of mainly British descent, who were granted UK citizenship in 1983.
Northern Territories / Southern Kurile Islands
The Kuril Islands dispute involves the seizure, by military forces of the Soviet Union, of four islands known in Japan as the Northern Territories. The islands include Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan, and the Habomai group of small islands. The seizure occurred in the final few days of the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation which began on August 9th of 1945.
The USSR expelled all Japanese citizens from the islands following the war and the islands now boast a Russian population of around 19,000. The islands’ climate is harsh and unforgiving with harsh, long winters and damp, foggy summers. Marine life abounds in the area and much of the non-political wrangling over the islands revolves around fishing rights.
La Navasse / Navassa Island
The United States has chosen not to take sides in a number of ongoing island disputes but there’s no straddling the fence when it comes to Navassa Island, or “La Navasse” as natives of neighboring (and claiming) Haiti refer to it. The tiny (2.01 sq mi or 5.2 sq km) island has no natural sources of water and although it was discovered way back in 1504 by some of Christopher Columbus’ sailors, it was pretty much ignored and avoided for the next 350 years.
Claimed by Haiti as far back as 1801 and located just 40 nautical miles (46 miles or 74 km) west of Jérémie on Haiti’s southwestern peninsula, Navassa Island currently exists as an unorganized unincorporated territory of the United States administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The closest American territory is the Guantanamo Bay naval base 90 nautical miles (100 miles or 170 km) to the north.
Dokdo / Liancourt Rocks / Takeshima
The Liancourt Rocks, named for the French whaler Le Liancourt which nearly foundered on them in 1849, are a varied collection of islets, rocks and reefs (over 90 in all) located 215 kilometers (116 nautical miles) from the Korean mainland Korea and 211 kilometers (114 nautical miles) from Honshu, the main island of Japan. The island group is dominated by two islands that together form the remnants of a volcanic cone approximately 2 to 4.5 million years old.
Called “Dokdo” by Korea and “Takeshima” by Japan, the islands are the center of a fierce dispute that has seriously affected relations between Korea and Japan. Such is the level of nationalistic fever and xenophobic vitriol expounded by those on either side of the issue, it seems beyond the realm of possibility that the dispute will ever be resolved in a mutually agreeable manner. If, however, saner heads should prevail some day, then hopes can be raised towards the resolving of ALL other island disputes. Let’s hope that day someday comes.

