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TERRITORY AND WAR: ANALYZING THE ROLE OF BORDER DISPUTES IN
INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS
Introduction
Border disputes as catalysts for international tensions
Issues relating to the demarcation of borders between countries have historically been the
precursors of increased tensions and even aggression between nations. This is because borders
possess an inherent characteristic of state security and sovereignty, and the demarcation of
national identity. When borderlines are either ambiguous or disputed or even invaded and
crossed, it is not only a direct infringement on an essential aspect of statehood. There are more
recent examples of how border disputes contribute to exacerbating tensions between states in
various geographical areas. The current Sino-Indian border dispute is located in the Line of
Actual Control in the Himalayas, though tension has been carried over from the 1962 war, with
the most recent skirmishes occurring in 2020 and leading to the first fatalities since 1975. It was
also evident that both nations felt that control of the zones considered contested along the
boundary was as a matter of strategic national concern. Likewise Japan and South Korea
continue to have the dispute over the Liancourt Rocks in the Sea of Japan which sometimes
triggers nationalist feelings. Nevertheless, the conflicts that arise from boundaries do not always
result to war, particularly where the disputes are resolved diplomatically. The example of
negotiations to finally set the borders of nearly all the maritime area between Indonesia and the
Philippines after many years of talks shows that peace is sometimes achieved gradually as states
do not hurry in their desire to solve conflicts peacefully. Moreover, global interdependence
increases the importance of cooperation on the economic level with neighbors more than conflict
regarding borders. While some of the territorial disputes might remain a contentious issue for
years, the possibility of creating tensions within the international relations can be effectively
reduced by regular and stable bilateral negotiations based on realistic approaches. Thus the major
risks in continents with borders disputes involve escalation of tensions but diplomacy and
peaceful coexistence once the issues are rationalized and decided by state leaders and citizens.
Evolving nature of territorial conflicts in the modern era
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Historically, territorial disputes have been an ever-present in the society and this is true
up to the modern days but with different characteristics. Traditionally, it was common for states
to use force to capture territories and grounds due to issues such as access to water, food
production, trade, and control over religious locations. Rulers and organizations engaged in some
of the fiercest wars of aggression and annexation to acquire new territories for increased
economic productivity and increased armed forces, political authority and glory. However, in the
contemporary society since the 20th century, the nature of territorial disputes and how they are
pursued has changed. Newer forms of sovereignty, human rights laws, norms of international
law, and trade globalization have also altered the dynamics of the incentives and disincentives
necessary for territorial aggression. As newer technologies such as air power, missiles and
nuclear weapons have come into play, the price of outright annexation of territory has gone up.
Hence today, States do not annex foreign territories in the ways that were evident in prior
decades through invasions or wars as observed previously. However, these territorial disputes are
nowadays more or less over questions of self-determination, ethno-national movements for
independence. Some of the reasons include but not limited to disagreements over what the
parties have termed as „Holy Lands‟, historical territorial claims which often correlate with
nationalist sentiments, Sea boundaries/Exclusive Economic Zones and at times, politically
motivated land grabs by despotic regimes. Hence while the need to acquire strategic territory has
not lost its relevance in shaping geostrategic political relations, the altered context of
globalization and the emergence of new political cleavages have revolutionized the means and
modality in which territorial disputes are waged in the contemporary world.
Importance of understanding border disputes for conflict prevention
Borders have the potential of dividing people and causing conflicts between nations and
issues like where a border should be drawn or the resources in a particular border region
potentially become a source of conflict between two countries in a short span of time if not well
handled or understood. When evaluating conflict potential, indicators such as actual causes of the
border conflict, the participants, and their grievances and bargaining techniques and claims,
which could avoid the escalation of the conflict to the level of violence, should emanate. Anyone
who is seeking to advise against border conflicts or indeed, prevent them, must undertake a
comprehensive study of the borders in question inclusive of previous agreements, perceived
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injustices on these agreements, territorial claims of each side and why the claims are deemed
appropriate. They should determine the types of assets that may be present in the contested
region like water, oil, or gas, and the ports and military strategic bases, access to trading routes
that may bring more intensity to the conflict. The analysts should identify who the main players
are on either side, whether they are governmental representatives, military officers, ethnic groups
or any other party interested in possessing the disputed space. They have to understand the
primary offer and the secondary negotiating positions on the border demarcation concerns of
each side. This will shed lights on motives, the level of political leverage for concessions, and
possibly „compromise‟ settlement. Given the fact that mediators must always look at the
histories, the stakeholders, the self-interests and the negotiation postures, it becomes possible to
forge border delineation options which would be acceptable to the main players on both sides of
the border. It enables adverse parties to be reached in a friendly manner and also ensures that the
disputing parties are compromising during the negotiation process. It has been revealed that
when conflicts occur on the border and involve the use of arms, then the need to understand the
other party is very important in avoiding misunderstandings and hence, enduring solutions can be
found. Therefore, it would be wise for the policymakers and analysts to invest in the pursuit of
understanding the border disputes long before any form of shooting takes place to avoid such
outcomes and to promote peaceful determine of borders. This means that, provided that tensions
rise to the level of open fighting, borders are constantly monitored and engagement takes place at
the onset of low-intensity conflict, the conflagration can be prevented while the underlying
sources of friction remain contained.
Historical Roots of Contemporary Border Conflicts
Colonial legacies shaping current territorial dispute patterns
The colonial division of Central Africa or European imperialist border demarcation of
Asia a half a century or a century or more, ago still plays the major influence on the borders of
the conflicts today. European countries colonized Africa and other regions in the 1800s and early
1900s, and they did not take much care as to which ethnic or language group should rule which
area. Boundaries were created arbitrarily with little regard to ground reality of local inhabitants
and depended more on imperial concerns and division of spheres. For instance, the colonization
by Italy in 1890 led to drawing a boundary that separated Eritrea from Ethiopia and fifteen years
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later in 1998-2000 Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a violent war over the territorial control. Further,
conflicts resulting from the indeterminate boundary of Kashmir drawn by Britain came to force
when India and newly formed Pakistan fought over the region in the year 1947 immediately after
the independence. The arbitrary lines dividing ethnic groups/tribes which were drawn in the
Middle East after World War I also paved way for many of the current day conflicts; including
civil wars of past couple of decades. It should be noted that local leaders and populations do
share in the culpability; however, their thoughtless drawing of imperial boundaries, which
severed communities in two, paved the way for internal stability once colonies transformed into
new nation-states. Lack of strong central authority was also reflected in the fact that clashes over
territories became possible much easier. This history exposes the recklessness and villainous
nature of colonialism as local communities incurred the penalties in the long run. Still today, and
quite often even after decades and generations, these populations still cannot come to terms with
each other and with the arbitrary borders established by imperial pens on their territories.
Solutions involve historical analysis, consensus, negotiation as well as power-sharing within
states and between cross border groups, which more often than not involves different ethnic
groups. The colonial problem remains a tough nut to crack for the sake of conflict transformation
and sustainable stability as well as the economic growth of the regions of the world that have
been affected by colonial bad maps of the world during the European colonization period but still
in this contemporary world of diplomacy and warfare.
Post-World War II border changes fueling ongoing border conflicts
Some of the border disputes are as follows: After the Second World War, the border lines
were shifted and there are several more border disputes in different regions of the world. After
the conclusion of the war in 1945, the Allied forces determined various borders and territories
with reference to politics without regard to the demography of the populations residing in those
territories. This has caused conflicts over what the borders should be, that have to this date, not
been solved even after 70 years. Perhaps the most notorious is the partition of the British Indian
into the two states of India and Pakistan in 1947 that led to pogroms and systematic mass killing
that claimed over one million lives. The conflict still persists today at the border of these two
countries in the region of Kashmir. A prime example of this was the partition of Palestine in
1948 after WWII by the British where they established the state of Israel which occurred at the
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detriment of the Palestinian Arabs and has led to more than half a century conflict between Israel
and Palestine over the control of the disputed land. Other new boundaries were set in Europe
especially after WWII given the rise of the Soviet Union‟s domination over the eastern part of
Europe. Finland and Poland boundaries shifted and Yugoslavia was created as a new sphere of
influence for communism. After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 these borders changed
again and disputes arose regarding the territories of such places as Nagorno-Karabakh, South
Ossetia, Abkhazia, Transnistria, etc. In Africa, geographical lines were made by powerful
imperialists like Britain, France and Belgium without due consideration to ethnic lines across the
continent, which has resulted in recurrent conflicts in countries including Nigeria, Somalia and
the Democratic Republic of Congo. But territorial dilemmas regarding the sovereignty of islands
in East China Sea and South China Sea still exist between the countries like China, Japan, and
South Korea are mainly due to the postwar Allied convention. Thus, these ongoing border
conflicts resulting from the changes made in the post-war period show the recklessness and
short-sightedness of the allied map-makers in the post-WWII period as the populations within
these borderlines fight against the artificial division drawn by outsiders years ago.
Cold War's impact on global border demarcations
The Cold War period which started from 1947 to 1991 involved two major alliance of the
world the Western Bloc headed by the United States and the Eastern Bloc headed by the Soviet
Union belonging to the communist society. This period was dominated by proxy wars where one
super power did not directly engage the other but sponsored local forces against it. It is
significant to note that the Cold War had a profound imprint on the borders all across the world.
It is difficult to overlook the most famous barrier that began construction in 1961 – the Berlin
Wall that separated West and East Berlin. The Berlin Wall was the concrete manifestation of the
metaphorical Iron Curtain divide that ran through Europe, which divided the democratic west
from the socialist east. It affected the lives of Berliners who were unable to cross the divide and
go about their normal lives. In a more metaphorical sense it was merely a symbol of the deep
political, economic and social cleavages the Cold War carved on the face of Europe. It also
expressed, however, beyond the Europe, traditional Cold War division of East and West in
border conflicts such as the 38th parallel demarcation dividing Korean peninsula with the
communists North supported by Soviets and China in confrontation with the capitalist south
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supported by the US which was the geographical residual of 1950-1953 Korean war which
contained Cold war tensions within it. The East-West split also played a very significant role in
most of the African border conflicts such as Angola‟s civil war which had proxy war features.
Here, while the U.S. supported parties that wrestled Angola‟s independence from Portugal in
1975, the Soviets and Cuba supported opposing factions. The factional civil war fighting did not
cease until 1989 indicating, as does the end of the Cold War, the Cold War was not as
permanently frozen as the name implied. In the Middle East the creation of Israel in 1948 also
attained different tone of cold war politics where U.S was supporting Israel while Soviet Union
was supporting Arab nations against Israel. It sowed seeds for long-standing border issues
surrounding the creation of a new state of Israel, particularly with Palestine. While the super
powers did not engage in direct physical combat the Cold War between the Soviet-led
communism and the American-led capitalist countries permeated proxy wars and border
conflicts to all corners of the globe. The Cold War‟s deep tension shaped a bipolar, organized
world through the construction of operational borders and figurative walls with the vestiges in
Korea, the Middle East, and other parts of Africa, for instance.
Geopolitical Strategies in Border Dispute Escalation
Buffer zones as tools for regional power
Historically, buffer zones or areas that lie between two or more territories but under
different political jurisdictions have been employed by regional powers as a “shield” or a
controlling tool. Reflecting on the borders, the great regional powers build buffers around
themselves, thereby using distance as insurance against threats, be they military or ideological.
Buffer zones help regional powers to prevent the imposition of a competing sphere of influence.
For instance, during the Cold War, the countries of the Warsaw Pact in Central and Eastern
Europe were useful to the Soviet Union in weakening the influence of NATO and Western
European countries. In politics and military perspectives, the Soviets would be able to limit the
influence of the capitalist ideology in the neighboring countries through the Warsaw Pact
organization. The regional power may use buffer zones as the launching pad for further territorial
conquests, develop the areas with their own peoples and place their own compliant regimes in
charge. The buffer state, which the Imperial Japan set up in Manchuria known as Manchukuo in
the 1930s, can best be described as an advanced base or outpost for the invasion of China by
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Japan. In this way, some of the regional powers are able to strengthen their geostrategic position
by managing the resources and the political processes in the buffer zones. It also means that
tensions or instability may be introduced into a “buffer zone”, which would allow a regional
power to justify its military intervention under the guise of peacekeeping or protection of the
homeland. The realist perspective: divide and rule policies imposed by regional powers would
erode the internal sovereignty and at the same time, deepen the dependence of buffer entities.
Due to relatively high economic and military capabilities to those of the buffer zones, regional
power players are capable of meddling in and exerting immense political influence on the
politics of a buffer zone. From satellite states, autonomous regions to zones of uncertain
sovereignty, buffer zones have provided regional powers over time a safe zone from competition,
a means to quarantine threats, a platform to project power and a corridor for the expansion of
influence. Therefore, the exercise of control over and the management of these areas entail a
high level of geostrategic rationality, resource commitments, and ideological influence from the
regional states seeking to harness these marginal territories for actuating their security and
power.
Strategic chokepoints driving competition for territorial control
Resource control sites which involve management of access to resources and people and
goods are a main cause of tension on potential escalation of border conflict between nations that
want to control the border. Those facilities which are necessary to transport goods, namely
shipping lanes, ports, canals, straits, pipelines, mountain passes, bridges, railways, and roads that
connect suppliers to consumers and country A to country B can also be strategic chokepoints for
which nations fight hard to gain control. A nation that occupies a single chokepoint key to an
opponent‟s economy or defense has a major strategic strength to employ, including the use of
blockades, tolls, denial of passage, or threats to do any of the above. Modern historical examples
are abounding where countries sought to dominate certain strategic chokepoints due to territorial
disputes or just plain power play. One of the most strategic chokepoints as far as the modern
global oil transport is concerned is the Strait of Hormuz through which the Persian Gulf oil
producers connect with the Asia Pacific and the Indian Ocean markets; though Iran conducts
military exercises, tests weapons, and threatens to close the strait. Another example of the key
geographical chokepoint which Russia can use to apply pressure on Ukraine and limit the access
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of vessels to Ukrainian seaports is the Kerch Strait Bridge connecting Russia with Crimea which
has been unlawfully occupied by Russia from Ukraine. In other regions, China plans to occupy
the strategic sea lines of communication and ports that are important to its geostrategic interests
as tensions with neighbors over sovereignty of islands, boundaries of the sea, and contiguous
zones intensify – this is evident in its construction of artificial islands and militarization of the
South China Sea. So when climate change brings fresh Arctic shipping channels and resources
into the picture, battles for control over routes and seas and more will escalate as a means for
countries to gain influence over age-old territorial issues and power struggles. As is evident
where there are boundary issues and nations striving for supremacy, control of strategic straits
form a major provoking factor. Control over the access points of resources, people, and goods is
important a lot; not as a threat, but as a weapon, and as an incentive. Hence, strategic
chokepoints are areas that give rise to a high level of rivalry and are themselves consumables and
instruments of competition. Because of their decisive position, they are platforms for either
confrontation and escalation, of geopolitical tensions and conflicts today, as they were in history.
Spheres of influence extending beyond formal borders
Territorial claim in this context may include a country‟s sphere of operation, which may
include areas more than the sovereignty. This is especially true in the case of the world‟s leading
players and regional adjusters who are likely to set the pace in various fields, including the
economic, military, and political sense of the word. A clear example is Russia, which in its
previous years has been exercising its dominance especially over east Europe, central Asia and
the Middle East. While Russia‟s power declined after the demising of Soviet Union it has not left
the want of numbering former Soviet sphere of influence. This is evident in assertive actions in
the international systemic context to sustain states of power just within the system‟s context. For
instance, Moscow applied force to Georgia and Ukraine when these states threatened to shift to a
dangerous proximity to Russia‟s view of its sphere of influence. Hence, by generating
unpredictability at its periphery, Russia still ensures the rest of states in the region to remain
aware of it as the leading power in the region. In this case, the application of hybrid warfare
hinders also the action plans of NATO significantly. China is also expandatively exercising its
dominance beyond borders at the same time equally. The Belt and Road Initiative has helped
China acquire greater economic leverage over many a weaker and less developed nations
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through large-infrastructure connected investments. Any state if decides to cross it, China can
punish effectively with economic suppression and infrastructure destruction. Moreover, the
People‟s Republic of China claims territorial entitlements for large portions of the offshore areas
in the ECS and the SCS. Thus, for enhancing the status of the PRC as the leading EA state,
Beijing can afford gradually making it more assertive when it comes to sea and territorial claims.
They have not fought in any war directly but have favored the slithering policy and utilizing
civilian boats so far. Despite this theory, the probability of the future physical use of force
concerning landmarks‟ and waters‟ territories remains possible. As in the case of Russia, the
roles of the official sphere in which China directly operates, and the spheres where it wields an
indirect impact are vague.
Cultural and Ethnic Factors in Territorial Claims
Linguistic enclaves complicating border demarcation efforts
Crossing the cultural and ethnic linguistic pockets makes it even difficult to draw the
borders when cultural and ethnic factors overtake the territorial claims. There is a lot that can be
said about enclaves, but in its simplest, an enclave can be described as a small region or area that
is enclosed by a bigger area, belonging to a different culture, ethnicity, or language. These
enclaves emerge as a result of migration, change of borders of countries, special affinities
between the countries, etc. Some people belonging to a particular language may move to a region
inhabited by people of a different language and thus form a linguistic island. These enclaves
raise challenges when borders are in dispute or when any claim for ownership of a piece of land
is made on basis of cultural or ethnic superiority. It means that groups may have claims on the
territories that are densely populated by their ethnize even if this area is encircled by the territory
of another ethnicity. This can result in bizarre border perimeters, enclaves, or geographical
anomalies as a group attempts to incorporate regions where people of that given ethnicity reside
while at the same time, seeking to uphold the sovereignty, unity and connectedness of borders.
Also, citizens of enclaves maintain direct links with their ethnic place of origin, making it even
harder to determine which country can own the corresponding territory or people‟s allegiance.
Their presence breaks the ethnic or cultural homogeneity of a given area. Hence, challenges arise
in boundary delimitation, various groups take to the streets to demonstrate against new
boundaries which have effectively seceded them from their original homelands, problems arise
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when groups seek self-determination, and there can even be conflict. For instance, substantial
population of the Hungarian ethnicity lives in some parts of Romania, Slovakia, Serbia and
Ukraine through cultural and territorial changes in the 19 and 20 centuries respectively. These
have been a source of conflict given that the surrounding communities have had different border
demarcations from Hungary. Such problems with Russian enclaves in the former Soviet
republics of Latvia and Estonia have also troubled. These enclaves prevent one from drawing
clear ethnic or cultural line down the border because there are small pockets of another group
interrupting the ethnic or cultural line and can even twist it to their advantage. Since they are
recognized as having their own territory and own countries, often in another continent, they do
not fully fit the parameters of the regular border talks and treaties. It means that it becomes very
hard to have a clear understanding of cultural and ethnicity differences when distinguishing the
territorial boundaries between groups and countries with existence of linguistic enclaves.
Religious site access disputes igniting cross-border tensions
Religious site access disputes igniting cross-border tensions is the problem that concerns
religious site access which leads to conflicts across borders as a result of cultural and ethnical
sentiments in territorial claims. The political implication of meaning-making becomes
problematic when a site is sacred to more than one group across national boundaries, and when
access is denied or regulated, conflict ensues. For instance, Jerusalem‟s Temple Mount/Haram
al-Sharif is significant to both Jews and Muslims. The restrictions that have been placed by
Israeli authorities to regulate the movements of the Palestinian people, particularly during the
month of Ramadan, have always led to demonstrations, and sometimes use of force. However,
restrictions on Jewish prayer rights that are often set by the mosque authorities have also been an
issue of concern. These conflicts can be viewed as the outcome of various underlying dynamics,
specifically, disputes of territorial sovereignty and national identity. The other well-known
example is the Ayodhya issue in India that involves the disputed religious status of a landmark
considered to be the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama. The disputed area was also the site of a
structure known as the Babri Mosque constructed in the 16th century that was demolished in
December of 1992 by Hindu nationalists, a move that led to more than 2000 deaths in riots.
Although the Indian Supreme Court later awarded the land to Hindu property, the dispute
remains as sensitive issue that fuels the Hindu-Muslim feelings. Here too one can find the wars
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veiled behind the religious site dispute between the competing faiths that are rooted in political
struggles between state and civil society, issues of social justice and reparations for past wrongs,
questions of identity and citizenship, and concerns over demography. Even today, Ayodhya is
maintained in high security anticipation every time major Hindu festivals are known to be around
the corner.
In the future, complex religious site disputes such as the one at the Wailing Wall must be
settled with very intricate negotiations that will respect the religious value of the places to the
parties involved. If addressed improperly and, more specifically, without taking into account the
multi-sided nature of the conflict, the risk to escalate local and global religious tensions is high.
Even though coexistence agreements are intricate especially those concerning religious sites,
such as the rights of access and management, they can foster confidence. But around those
shrines, which are still being claimed and disputed, peace is still very uncertain. The
determination of the final status of Jerusalem must be sensitive to both the religious rights of the
two religions as well as the pragmatic geostrategic factors that define today‟s world. Thus, with
the help of inter-religious discussions and innovative approaches to decision-making, the issues
based on the conflicting territorial affiliations may be solved. Nevertheless, a long process of
coming to terms with the conflicting nationalist histories and healing the shared but still open
and inexpiable communal wounds in the best interest of amity remains a long one.
Indigenous land rights challenging established national boundaries
Native peoples have been attempting for quite a long time to regain sovereignty and land
possession of the territories that were occupied in the age of imperialism, war, and the signing of
the treaties that led to the creation of the nation-states. Today, the majority of indigenous people
boast a cultural-ethnic closeness with their aboriginal territories despite the fact that such
territories now belong to countries with different cultural backgrounds. This has lead to various
indigenous peoples developing unrecognized territorial rights that challenge the sovereignty of
today‟s national borders regimes that the people never consented to. For instance, the Standing
Rock Sioux Tribe has opposed the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline because it crosses
the native territory in North Dakota and endangers the water source of their ancestral ground.
This has shown that the act of forming a line around the reservation and confining the ability of
the tribe in using the area remains a major reference of the tribe regarding a fraction of the area
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which rightfully belongs to them. The same can be said with the Secwepemc Nation in British
Colombia who has pursued Aboriginal title over vast portions of the provincial Crown land on
the basis that the territorial boundaries and systems of trespass do not acknowledge Indigenous
sovereignty over the land before Canada. Also in Canada, conflicts have arisen between the First
Nations peoples, federal/provincial governments and industry for and against development
projects requiring the use of FIPPC because of inherent and authority rights of the First Nations
over unseeded aboriginal territories. These examples prove that modern national borders are in a
way at odds with indigenous peoples‟ CFLTS and TOS. Because of the Native people‟s cultural
attachment and historical rights to their ancestral lands and natural resources, there are legal and
political factors for providing sovereignty of the Native territories. The demand for drawing
Native people‟s native rights and native self-determination on the one hand challenges current
state/nation territory and law foundation on the other hand as there are more unknown
indigenous land‟s sovereignty claims still unmet or unrecognized based on Native cultural
identities from historical connection to the land.
Maritime Border Disputes in International Relations
Exclusive Economic Zone conflicts reshaping naval strategies
Disputes over Exclusive Economic Zones or EZZs are recasting the nature of naval
competition in every ocean of the world. Since the member states are interested in the increase of
their maritime geographical area and as a result access to the ocean space‟s resources,
contestation over EEZ limits has grown in incidence. These disputes occur where countries‟
claimed 200 nautical mile limits coincide, or because of the geographical location, or the
difference in how nations apply the international laws on islands‟ sovereignty. For instance,
China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei all have their claims to islands and waters
in the South China Sea and this has manifested in stand offs in naval forces. Consequently, the
naval policies are being evolved to support and safeguard the EEZ claims to the greater extent.
The major naval powers are procuring next generation surface warfare ships, submarines,
maritime patrol aircraft, and AA/AD systems to deny the use of sea by adversaries in their
claimed area of interest. There has also been a focus on building up the coast guard and other
maritime law enforcement in order to be able to conduct presence patrols and surveillance within
the claimed EEZ of a country. The goals are to assert sovereignty, prevent unauthorized fishing
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or exploitation by other nations and countries‟ respective entities, and deal with the grey zone
activity just below the armed conflict level. On the same note, the United States and its allies are
keen on increasing cooperation horizons among partners and allies in protecting freedom of
navigation rights pursuant to the international laws of innocent passage through EEZs. These
tensions over access have heightened the strategical relevance of naval influence with regard to
power projection, particularly for the medium-sized regional players aspiring to be seas-oriented
powers. When it comes to major contestation areas such as the East and South China seas, the
interlinkage of\non-solved EEZ issues with naval developments might jeopardize the area‟s arms
race dynamics. Such actions push competing countries toward a zero-sum mentality and give
voice to hawks in pursuit of naked power instead of negotiation and diplomatically recovering
occupied territory. So long as countries of great influence do not accept mechanisms for
managing crises and for joint economic utilization of contested areas, maritime conflicts will
continue to pose a disruptive factor in the adjustment of naval strategies for the nature of
geopolitical rivalry in the 21st century.
Island sovereignty issues straining diplomatic relations globally
Sovereignty of islands has become a big problem on the relations among nations in this
world as territorial waters claims deepen. Many islands scattered throughout the Asia-Pacific
countries and other parts of the world have some territorial disputes with the neighboring
countries, and the tension increases. They are mostly allocating to important fishing grounds,
fossil fuel resources, or strategic military bases which increases the conflict intensity. For
example, Japan has territorial disputes with Russia over the control of the four islands of the
Kuril chain to the north of Hokkaido and over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands to the southwest that
China and Taiwan assert their sovereignty over as well. Likewise, several islands in the region
containing vast deposits of energy including the Paracel Islands and the Spratly Island are
occupied partly or fully by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei. China is
becoming more aggressive in asserting its claim, carrying out reclamation, construction of
military structures, and dispatching Coast Guard and fishing vessel formations. This has
prompted diplomatic protests and freedom of navigation operations from the US and its allies. In
the East China Sea, another forecasted quarrel relating to the Socotra Rock outcrop provokes
conflict between South Korea and China as well. The issue of the islands is another conflict-
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prone area in the Mediterranean, Cyprus issue and Greek –Turkish disputes over islands in the
Aegean Sea hold implications for the EU geopolitics. Given that many countries have come up
with disparate and often incompatible claims to sovereignty over islands and the waters
surrounding them grounded on different legal theories, political history, and self-interest,
sovereignty disputes over islands have remained some of the most challenging to solve by
diplomacy. Instead of evolving into zones for negotiations, they are turning into hotbeds that
have the potential to lead to accidental military skirmishes. Measures that build confidence and
creative confidence-building measures as well as various techniques for the resolution of
sovereignty disputes are desirable for managing such island sovereignty-related issues and
preventing the outbreak of full-scale conflicts like the ones involving China, India, and the
United States.
Seabed resource claims intensifying maritime border tensions
New episodes of maritime territorial altercation are emerging in relation with the shift in
various seas borders to obtain rights over the seabed for resources such as minerals and
hydrocarbons which is the essence of getting EEZs. Advancements in technologies that have
enabled the provision of even more advanced and deeper drills and mining of resources have led
to competition for possessions of offshore resources hence resulting to conflicts over ownership
and sovereignty of potential areas. Another area of conflict is setting of continental shelf beyond
the 200 nautical mile which is provided in the UNCLOS. If a country is in a position to prove
that its continental margin falls in this area then the country is in a position to be allowed an
extended continental. As a result the surveys and mapping of the seabed has improved and the
states have staked overlapping claim on the area of the shelf. This is so because if the claimed
zones due to different baselines or geographic features are interpretational, then there is often
conflict of some sort provoked by political rivalry. Worsening this state of affairs is the case of
absence of clarity with reference to the rules governing the Laczynski‟s domain which is
accompanied by the weak mechanisms in case of disagreement within the International Law on
maritime zones. It then continues to describe a case where seabed resources have exacerbated the
issue by deepening the border controversies; the South China Sea is one of the most prominent
examples to represent this case. China had litosphere by concentric nine-dash line took more
than eighty percent of the Sea that was uncorresponding with the provision of EEZs as Vietnam,
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the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei used. An estimate has been made of such products as oil
and natural gases which are believed to be present in fairly good quantities and it is also a fishing
area.
Lately, China has become more aggressive in the region owing to the construction
activities that it has carried out at the features in the South China Sea through reclamation and
construction of installation buildings. At the same time, China and its neighbors, especially in the
South China Sea has continually get involved in the search and exploration of hydrocarbon
resources in the stated territorial waters thus enhancing the probability of occurrence of
confrontations and sea battles. For as long as the issue of sovereignty on the Spratly and Paracel
Islands remains uncertain more tensions to off-shore energy projects are inevitable. In the future,
when availability of promising seabed resources and lack of clear MMDs delineation go hand in
hand with consequent competition, MMDs will not only persist in the SCS but will also be
developed in other regions of the world including eastern Mediterranean and other areas like
East/South China sea areas. That is why, absence of any more acute stages of tension with an
escalation to military confrontation will not only concern the delimitation of the continental
shelf, but also the diplomatic demarcation of the disputed waters.
Technological Innovations in Border Dispute Resolution
GIS mapping technologies enhancing border demarcation accuracy
Technologies such as Geographic Information System (GIS) Mapping Technologies have
become significant since they improve the degree of accuracy on the demarcation lines of
borders between countries. GIS through the help of spatial data layers and satellite images, is
capable of constructing credible maps that can help illustrate boundaries on the surface of the
earth. While older ways of cartography involved approximations in surveys and manual drafting
of maps, GIS uses GPS data along with the data from remote sensors on satellites to prepare
maps with an error margin of not more than a meter. The overlaying of multiple lines of input
data such as topographic features and roads or the locations of villages, and other establishments
enhances the precise mapping. They are particularly useful when boundary disagreements
develop between countries because, with the aid of these GIS-based maps, there is factual and
credible information that countries can use in their negotiation and settlement processes. For
instance, in 1993 Eritrea received independence from Ethiopia and in 1998-2000 war on the
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border erupted because of the conflict in map where there was a colonial map of 1900 and the
ground reality. Thus G.I.S analysis facilitated the determination of the awarded contentious
boundary when it came to the evaluation of settlement patterns, continuity of administration and
effective control. This showed shortcomings of the colonial map of 1900 and made it possible to
devise a new colonial based on the current situation. The demarcation line has since faded the
conflict and exchanges of fires in the region due to the clear demarcation line. Likewise, India
and Bangladesh have demarcated their 4,000-kilometre long border in 2015 which earlier was an
unresolved issue as they corrected some 200 map mistakes left by the British colonialists with
the help of GIS and GPS technology. This was useful for ensuring that the demarcation followed
the geomorphological features on the boundary line within the constraints of accessibility,
contacted villages, and roads. The enhancement of the border exactness and clearness of the
newly drawn line has enhanced relationship between two countries.
Blockchain applications for transparent border agreement records
When the border demarcation is still under discussion, or not unique and precise, the GIS
may be a very persuasive technology to the states as it provides a new outlook on the borders
brought in according to a number of facts. Due to GIS, one can join numerous historical maps,
satellite images, as well as other field data to ground an expert approach to the settlement of
conflicts on the basis of a geographical data base. This physicality of GIS lessens the chances of
controversy over border points because significantly less interpretation or guess work can be
attributed to the act of drawing the line. This assists in the understanding and safety for persons
residing in the boundaries of the two countries, and this assist in the regulating of the factors that
may cause the development of conflicts – this is key in the relations between two nations.
Because there are still numerous remaining border conflicts related to other troublesome or
archaic boundaries that are still present globally, GIS appears well fated to become an important
tool in the non-violent conflict solving method, which entails boundaries identification.
Therefore GIS mapping emerges as one of the technological fixes to what is arguably the most
complex problem facing the world today because of efficiency in providing political or
geographic borders that may be relatively hard to articulate where there is conflict.
Virtual reality simulations facilitating border negotiation processes
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The assumption here is that revolutionary VR simulations are especially applicable to
processes of border negotiation because concrete platforms are assigned to the quarreling parties
to envision solutions. It can offer the real and to scale borders, geography, resources, facilities as
well as potential or existing settlements. This will allow the people who are in the process of
negotiating to view the impact of the various offers on different aspects. The walking through
decision making activity simulates how the parties might be able to achieve their respective goals
as a result of improved understanding of each other‟s needs, expectations as well as desired ends.
For instance, an effect may entail depiction of the various boundaries as defined by borders in a
region of conflict as well as its impact on water resources or routes of transport. It is, therefore,
useful when negotiators could then explore adjustments and compromises while they are actually
feeling the ground. The users are very much involved in the perception of VR and possibly more
concerned or imaginative during the negotiation than when they are just observing maps or
diagrams. It is therefore possible that multiple user environments can also facilitate the use of
simulations for negotiator teams in different geographical regions and the use of the simulations
can be done concurrently. This could help in minimizing travel especially in the first instances
and allows each party to review from within the simulation in privacy. Thus, while not being
able to model all the subtleties in addition to getting a reasonable idea of what the problem and
some of the main trade-offs are. The view that is gotten from such simulated visualizations and
interactions could need to end deadlock, which most of the time stem from bias view of the two
or more parties.
Over the years, improvements in accuracy and functionality of the VR tools in question
might extend their function in such subtle boundary work as well. If used and applied not only
for selfish purposes, VR might turn into the indispensable instrument in high-stake mediations
where the parties traverse the territory at the root of the dispute and, in the „eye contact‟ mode,
watching and experiencing the built consequences of the proposed division and its impact inside
the VR environment getting precisely synchronized with the empiric evidence. Since tensions at
borders are rising around the world today, the VR can assist negotiators and decision makers to
get a better understanding and the global perspective of all the matters under discussion,
regarding the boundaries of groups and resources. It is not being claimed here, that the VR
border simulation tools that underlie geographical data is the magic bullet for the dialogue and
geospatial media But they do offer a definite promise for the improvement of the existing
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dialogue and the search for real, feasible, and long-term borders for nations. Because of that their
further research is found reasonable as the contribution to the solving of the contemporary border
conflicts within the framework of the globally linked world.
Conclusion
Border disputes as complex, multifaceted international security challenges
The border conflicts entail intricate differentiations of the problems within the security
and order of the international relations. First of all, they originate from the existence of the
unsolved conflicts reflecting the territorial contestation of several states by other states due to
historical, ethnopolitical, economic, and military factors. However, it is also significant to admit
that borders, as a hot issue in the context of environmental problems, affect a multitude of other
factors, which make the conflict even worse and their resolution nearly impossible. They may be
nationalist or ethnic based on the resources including water and hydrocarbons, prior history of
conflict including war or latent hatred, politically domestic involvement, lack of trust and
diplomacy, and interferences or strategic relations by third countries. The procedures of
delimitation and demarcation of the borders might often consume several years and at some stage
might turn out to be sensitive amid military conflicts or armed hostility that even lead to
sometimes loss of life and impact on the growth and development of the economics of the
countries in the region. They also create animosity between the states that penetrate into other
spheres of their interaction and do not allow the process of defying or reducing tensions even if
other aspects of bilateral cooperation are amicable or even allied. As a result of such historical
and present realities as the historical-declarative measuring of the parties to the conflict, the
nationalist orientation, the rarity of valuable resources, the aforementioned mentality of the
security dilemma and, finally, the inability to establish stable communication, border conflicts
are ontologically immune to consilience and inherently susceptible to sporadically escalation.
Thus, it is evident that they are a complicated, structural, and frequently long-standing danger to
global security, the removal of which in a global sum manner is not always easy business
especially when it involves elements of diplomacy like confidence building, compromise, and
the use of third party assistance.
Need for innovative approaches to territorial conflict resolution
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Evidently, boundary issues have remained more of historical and an ever-present problem
in the world since they have continuously precipitated formation or sustenance of conflict
between and within societies volatility in some regions and crisis based on humanitarianism.
Since this is the ever changing nature in the territorial conflicts in the international political map
it becomes pertinent to seek for more constructive strategies in the management of such conflict
with most emphasis on the non-violent methods. Generally, state- centered options have often let
the community down; therefore, there is need to diversify the ways of managing conflicts. This is
why some of the innovative techniques are more political dialogue which involves other civil
society stratum, as well as being other forms of government machinery partnerships, joint
economic activities that create cooperative relations, neutralization processes that returns neutral
administration to both factions and fair power sharing coupled with self-governing. The other
approach can also refer to the application of psychology in resolving identity based conflicts and
also embracing technological advancement in adding other aspects such as accountability to also
complement the diplomatic measures such as negotiation. After all, if the conflicting parties have
territorial claim then they must have a basic desire to have a lasting solution to their conflict
other than checking on manifest causes for separation. This depends with the facilitators‟
effectiveness in getting the disputants to transform their perception of the conflict. Since the
contemporary manner in which global territorial concerns are managed has favorably
incorporated creative approaches in tune with the new territorial peculiarities, there would be
even more opportunities of meeting more positive advancements in managing such conflicts
before the aggressive warfare begins, more lives and resources will be spared. The direction is
therefore co-creative strategic management which is more of a win-win sort of management.
Importance of proactive measures in preventing border-related wars
Consistent efforts towards avoiding border related wars are crucial in ensuring that such
conflicts do not usher the world into a chaotic state. Geopolitical boundaries have been a
common cause of war as nations tend to become aggressive over possessional rights and control
over resources as well pride and ego where diplomacy is not enough. Negotiating and agreeing
on the borders, sharing information about military activities, and troops deployment at borders,
and having communication channels between border forces are some of the measures that can be
implemented to ensure that there is differentiation between being misunderstood and being
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threatened and therefore preventing escalation of violence. Promoting the integration of the two
and the more trade, investments, and travels between the countries, it becomes easier to align
self-interest in preserving peace. The people who live in bordering areas and have trade and
mutually dependent relations with the neighbors stand to lose a lot in case of a conflict and hence
would be against aggressive policies from their governments. Continued communication through
tourism, educational, and historical contact help ameliorate perceived threats from the society
and increase people‟s empathy for each other on both sides. Such measures ensure the
probabilities of engaging in warfare either on or across borders to be highly minimized and it is
very difficult for a situation to arise that would lead to a border war. Leaders are also to blame
for the elimination of border wars through more vigorous and clear signalization to the actions
and requirements. Maintaining communication through diplomatic means even in a time of
tension may prevent or at least slow misunderstandings and tensions that may be influenced by
nationalist rhetoric and media coverage on both sides. Again, the instinct that populism induces,
at least in part, is to escalate confrontation and fail to appreciate the price of war before
embracing the use of force. Diplomacy must be proactive because political situations on the
border can often be resolved without conflict through a combination of time and negotiation. The
options of continuing the trend of militarization and having a never-ending standoff are unlikely
to be beneficial for the needs of any nation. By acts of vision and audacity, some of these leaders
can steer their nations from border conflicts to borderless cooperation for trade.
