West Papua

  • Contested territories
  • Declaration of Independence 1 December 1961
  • Administered by Indonesia
  • Anthem Hai Tanahku Papua (Oh My Land Papua)
  • Motto One people, one soul
  • Interim President Benny Wenda (in exile in the UK)

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.

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Transnistria

Transnistria is a small strip of land located between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border with Ukraine. It declared independence in 1990, but has only been recognized as a sovereign entity by—the also unrecognized—South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The United Nations still legally considers Transnistria a part of the Republic of Moldova. The most well known company in Transnistria is called Sheriff—it owns a chain of petrol stations, a chain of supermarkets, a TV channel, a publishing house, a construction company, a Mercedes-Benz dealership, an advertising agency, a spirits factory, two bread factories, a mobile phone network, the football club FC Sheriff Tiraspol and its newly built Sheriff Stadium.

Senkaku Islands

Three islets and five barren rocks are known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands, in China as the Diaoyu Islands and in Taiwan they are known as the Tiaoyutai Islands. Japan has controlled them since 1972, when they were handed over by the Americans, who had had administered them since 1945. Despite the political conflicts between China and Taiwan, both governments agree that the islands are part of Taiwan with Japan rejecting this. In 2014 the Hollywood documentary ‘Diaoyu Islands: The Truth’ was released to great acclaim in China.

EnenKio

The Kingdom of EnenKio (meaning island of the orange flower), is an atoll located near the Marshall islands that claimed its sovereignty in 1994 after nearly a century of dispute with various colonial powers. The self-declared Kingdom of EnenKio has also claimed Wake Island as a separate sovereign nation and has issued passports. In 1997 the Dominion of Melchizedek, another micronation which was engaged in financial fraud, reported that the two had entered into relations. In 2000, Robert Moore, who claimed to be the head of state of EnenKio, was prevented by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from fraudulently issuing bonds for the non-existent nation.