Spratly Islands

  • Contested territories
  • Claimed by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam
  • Area 425,000 km² ocean 2 km² land

The Spratly Islands are a disputed group of islands, islets, cays and reefs in the South China Sea. The area is claimed by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. The islands contain approximately 2 km² of land area, spread over a vast area of more than 425,000 km². Some of the islands have civilian settlements, some of them don’t. All of them are occupied by military forces in an attempt to establish international boundaries.

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Western Sahara

The Sahrawi Republic is a partially recognized state that claims the non-self-governed territory of Western Sahara, but controls only the easternmost one-fifth of it. Morocco controls and administers the rest of the disputed territory and calls these lands its Southern Provinces. The Sahrawi Republic was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on 27th February, 1976, to fill what they considered a political void left by the departing Spanish colonizers. It maintains diplomatic relations with 40 UN states and is a full member of the African Union. While the claimed capital is the former Western Sahara capital El-Aaiún, the provisional capital was formally moved to Tifariti in 2008. Day-to-day business, however, is conducted in the Tindouf refugee camps in Algeria, which house most of the exiled Sahrawi community.

West Papua

The Republic of West Papua is an unrecognized, proposed state on the western half of the island of New Guinea. It is home to many unique species of wildlife including tree kangaroos and birds of paradise. It is also one of the world’s most resource rich areas containing huge reserves of oil, gas, copper, gold and timber. Previously a Dutch colony along with the islands that now make up Indonesia, West Papua remained under Dutch control when the Republic of Indonesia became independent in 1949. The Dutch government began preparing West Papua for independence throughout the 1950s, and on 1 December 1961, West Papua held a Congress at which its people declared independence, and raised their new flag – the Morning Star. However, the Indonesian army took over control and killed and imprisoned thousands of Papuans. The independence struggle continues ever since.

Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia

The Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia is the last remnant of an attempt to create a kingdom for the Mapuche people, the indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. Founded in 1860 by the French adventurer Antoine de Tounens, it intended to enlist the support of Napoleon III to create a vassal kingdom of France in Patagonia. In 1862 Antoine de Tounens was imprisoned and declared insane by the Supreme Court of Chile. He was expelled back to France and the Criminal Court of Paris ruled that Antoine de Tounens, first King of Araucania and Patagonia, did not justify his claim to the status of sovereignty of his kingdom. He died in poverty without any real successors. After his death many tried to conquer the kingdom, mainly as a way to sell stamps, the loss of the claim is seen as a lost opportunity by the Mapuche, who aim to get their land back via this lost kingdom.