these contested regions continue to
spark conflict welcome to watchmojo.com
and today we’re counting down our picks
for the top ten controversial
territorial disputes what the hell is
Israel it’s just something Rick starts
talking about when he’s blackout drunk
what and way before we begin we publish
new videos every day
so be sure to subscribe for more great
content for this list we’re looking at
current territorial disputes and ranking
them based on past and present activity
as well as their political impact if
anything the drunk version of me is
probably so supportive of Israel he
wants what’s best for it and amen I’m
not touching this you do you number 10
Western Sahara in 1975 Spain handed
Western Sahara over to Morocco and
Mauritania but the indigenous South
Rallye people who had resisted colonial
rule for decades had other ideas a new
nationalist movement called the
Polisario Front demanded independence
Mauritania withdrew a few years into the
conflict leaving the Polisario and
Morocco to fight it out accusations of
human rights violations have been made
against both sides with Morocco
reportedly bombing refugee camps with
napalm and the sudden disappearances of
Sahrawi civilians while the Polisario
have been accused of torturing and
killing POWs a ceasefire was agreed upon
in 1991 but the Polisario and moroccan
government remained deadlocked with
Morocco controlling most of the region
from behind a massive sand wall number 9
the South China Sea the South China Sea
has long been a source of tension in the
region with many countries making
competing territorial claims a third of
worldwide maritime traffic passes
through these contested waters and it’s
believed to potentially harbor vast oil
reserves
but in recent years China has brought
the situation to a head by building
artificial islands and military bases
China is entitled to protecting though
preserving the sovereignty and the
territorial integrity our own national
core interests an international tribunal
ruled against China’s claim to
historical rights and the US has sailed
naval vessels through the area to
promote freedom of navigation meanwhile
Chinese state-run media has warned of a
quote devastating confrontation between
China and the US if their access to the
islands is blocked number eight the
Falkland Islands France was actually
first to establish a settlement on this
much-sought-after archipelago in the
South Atlantic Ocean but they soon
transferred the claim to Spain in 1766
the same year the British established
their own settlement the British have
controlled the islands since 1833 but
since gaining independence from Spain in
1816 Argentina has also claimed
ownership which they attempted to assert
in 1982 with the invasion of both the
Falklands and the South Georgia and
South Sandwich Islands Argentina’s
military junta seemingly hoped that the
UK wouldn’t risk open violence but the
gamble did not pay off responding with
force the British took back the
territories in just over three months
nonetheless both nations continue to
claim sovereignty over the territory
today number seven Cyprus this
Mediterranean island has been fought
over by Greek and Turkish forces for
decades for hundreds of years
Cyprus was under Ottoman control until
being leased to the British in 1878
before eventually becoming independent
in 1960 but while Greek Cypriots wish to
become part of Greece Turkish Cypriots
wanted separate Greek and Turkish
sectors resulting in years of unrest
after a Greek Hunta and Cypriot National
Guard staged a coup in 1974 removing
their then president makarios the 3rd
Turkey invaded and occupied Northern
Cyprus their continued occupation is
condemned by the international community
and since 2015 both the north and south
sides of the island have been in talks
about unifying Cyprus once more but
it remains an island paradise divided
indefinitely number six Kashmir when the
British partitioned the British Indian
empire into the dominions of India and
Pakistan in 1947 Kashmir descended into
chaos it had a mostly Muslim population
but was ruled by a Hindu Maharajah who
had elected to remain independent with
encouragement from the Muslim League
Muslims revolted Hindu and Sikh
extremists retaliated massacring
thousands of Muslims which then resulted
in violence and killings of Hindus and
Sikhs the dispute has exploded into
several conflicts over the decades and
was the motivation behind the tragic
2008 Mumbai attacks orchestrated by the
terrorist group lashkar-e-taiba number
five Taiwan when Mao Zedong’s Communist
Party took control of China in 1949 the
defeated government fled to the island
of Taiwan to this day there has been no
lasting solution to the conflict between
the People’s Republic of China on the
mainland and the Republic of China in
Taiwan both continue to claim rights to
both the mainland and Taiwan while
growing in opposite economic and
political directions unofficial support
for Taiwan and demand for Taiwanese
products paired with official diplomatic
support of the People’s Republic of
China has so far helped to prevent the
conflict from escalating
but the situation remains tense it seems
that every time diplomatic relations
begin to improve whispers of
Independence resurfaced resulting in a
backslide in the relationship number for
Crimea in 2014 the Russian Federation
took advantage of unrest in Ukraine to
annex the Crimean Peninsula after years
of corruption revolutionaries a ousted
President Viktor Yanukovych who had
chosen to strengthen ties with Russia
over an association agreement with the
European Union unmarked Russian soldiers
took over the Crimean Parliament and
installed a pro-russian government after
which a referendum was soon held with
Crimea allegedly voting to join the
Russian Federation
was condemned by the UN and called
unconstitutional by the Constitutional
Court of Ukraine Russia had severe
economic sanctions brought against it
which has contributed to an ongoing
financial crisis number three
Tibet in 1959 ease forces invaded Tibet
smashing through Tibetan resistance and
incorporating the region into China but
with covert support from the CIA
Tibetans continued to fight back
culminating in the 1959 Tibetan uprising
it was quickly quelled with tens of
thousands of Tibetans killed and the
Dalai Lama fled to India China then
proceeded to destroy thousands of
monasteries and suppress Tibetan culture
the socialist land reforms of Mao
Zedong’s so-called Great Leap Forward
contributed to the great Chinese famine
that killed millions while his Cultural
Revolution left a legacy of violence and
destruction
today the Tibetan government-in-exile
continues to claim sovereignty but China
remains unflinching in its control
number two Korea when Japan relinquished
Korea at the end of the Second World War
the Soviet Union took charge of the
north and the u.s. the South but Cold
War politics ended hopes of peaceful
reunification and with support from the
Soviet Union the North invaded the South
precipitating the Korean War that war
ended with an estimated 1.2 million dead
and the borders unchanged however both
North and South Korea continued to claim
the whole Korean Peninsula the North’s
aggressive and hyperbolic threats
against the South have led to mounting
international tension particularly
between North Korea and the United
States before we unveil our number-one
pick here are some honorable mentions
[Music]
number one Israel and Palestine this
conflict is as polarizing as it is
intractable and has spawned a war with
seemingly no end in sight after the
Holocaust the UN resolved to divide
Palestine which was under British
governance into Arab and Jewish states
for Jewish settlers this fulfilled the
dream of a national homeland but to
Palestinians it seemed like a
continuation of colonialism after
subsequent wars Israel now occupies much
of the territory with extensive
settlements in the West Bank though a
two-state solution has long been the
favoured potential route to peace
negotiations have repeatedly broken down
with the last round of negotiations
starting in 2013 and being suspended the
following year do you agree with our
picks check out these other great clips
from WatchMojo and subscribe for new
videos every day
[Music]
spark conflict welcome to watchmojo.com
and today we’re counting down our picks
for the top ten controversial
territorial disputes what the hell is
Israel it’s just something Rick starts
talking about when he’s blackout drunk
what and way before we begin we publish
new videos every day
so be sure to subscribe for more great
content for this list we’re looking at
current territorial disputes and ranking
them based on past and present activity
as well as their political impact if
anything the drunk version of me is
probably so supportive of Israel he
wants what’s best for it and amen I’m
not touching this you do you number 10
Western Sahara in 1975 Spain handed
Western Sahara over to Morocco and
Mauritania but the indigenous South
Rallye people who had resisted colonial
rule for decades had other ideas a new
nationalist movement called the
Polisario Front demanded independence
Mauritania withdrew a few years into the
conflict leaving the Polisario and
Morocco to fight it out accusations of
human rights violations have been made
against both sides with Morocco
reportedly bombing refugee camps with
napalm and the sudden disappearances of
Sahrawi civilians while the Polisario
have been accused of torturing and
killing POWs a ceasefire was agreed upon
in 1991 but the Polisario and moroccan
government remained deadlocked with
Morocco controlling most of the region
from behind a massive sand wall number 9
the South China Sea the South China Sea
has long been a source of tension in the
region with many countries making
competing territorial claims a third of
worldwide maritime traffic passes
through these contested waters and it’s
believed to potentially harbor vast oil
reserves
but in recent years China has brought
the situation to a head by building
artificial islands and military bases
China is entitled to protecting though
preserving the sovereignty and the
territorial integrity our own national
core interests an international tribunal
ruled against China’s claim to
historical rights and the US has sailed
naval vessels through the area to
promote freedom of navigation meanwhile
Chinese state-run media has warned of a
quote devastating confrontation between
China and the US if their access to the
islands is blocked number eight the
Falkland Islands France was actually
first to establish a settlement on this
much-sought-after archipelago in the
South Atlantic Ocean but they soon
transferred the claim to Spain in 1766
the same year the British established
their own settlement the British have
controlled the islands since 1833 but
since gaining independence from Spain in
1816 Argentina has also claimed
ownership which they attempted to assert
in 1982 with the invasion of both the
Falklands and the South Georgia and
South Sandwich Islands Argentina’s
military junta seemingly hoped that the
UK wouldn’t risk open violence but the
gamble did not pay off responding with
force the British took back the
territories in just over three months
nonetheless both nations continue to
claim sovereignty over the territory
today number seven Cyprus this
Mediterranean island has been fought
over by Greek and Turkish forces for
decades for hundreds of years
Cyprus was under Ottoman control until
being leased to the British in 1878
before eventually becoming independent
in 1960 but while Greek Cypriots wish to
become part of Greece Turkish Cypriots
wanted separate Greek and Turkish
sectors resulting in years of unrest
after a Greek Hunta and Cypriot National
Guard staged a coup in 1974 removing
their then president makarios the 3rd
Turkey invaded and occupied Northern
Cyprus their continued occupation is
condemned by the international community
and since 2015 both the north and south
sides of the island have been in talks
about unifying Cyprus once more but
it remains an island paradise divided
indefinitely number six Kashmir when the
British partitioned the British Indian
empire into the dominions of India and
Pakistan in 1947 Kashmir descended into
chaos it had a mostly Muslim population
but was ruled by a Hindu Maharajah who
had elected to remain independent with
encouragement from the Muslim League
Muslims revolted Hindu and Sikh
extremists retaliated massacring
thousands of Muslims which then resulted
in violence and killings of Hindus and
Sikhs the dispute has exploded into
several conflicts over the decades and
was the motivation behind the tragic
2008 Mumbai attacks orchestrated by the
terrorist group lashkar-e-taiba number
five Taiwan when Mao Zedong’s Communist
Party took control of China in 1949 the
defeated government fled to the island
of Taiwan to this day there has been no
lasting solution to the conflict between
the People’s Republic of China on the
mainland and the Republic of China in
Taiwan both continue to claim rights to
both the mainland and Taiwan while
growing in opposite economic and
political directions unofficial support
for Taiwan and demand for Taiwanese
products paired with official diplomatic
support of the People’s Republic of
China has so far helped to prevent the
conflict from escalating
but the situation remains tense it seems
that every time diplomatic relations
begin to improve whispers of
Independence resurfaced resulting in a
backslide in the relationship number for
Crimea in 2014 the Russian Federation
took advantage of unrest in Ukraine to
annex the Crimean Peninsula after years
of corruption revolutionaries a ousted
President Viktor Yanukovych who had
chosen to strengthen ties with Russia
over an association agreement with the
European Union unmarked Russian soldiers
took over the Crimean Parliament and
installed a pro-russian government after
which a referendum was soon held with
Crimea allegedly voting to join the
Russian Federation
was condemned by the UN and called
unconstitutional by the Constitutional
Court of Ukraine Russia had severe
economic sanctions brought against it
which has contributed to an ongoing
financial crisis number three
Tibet in 1959 ease forces invaded Tibet
smashing through Tibetan resistance and
incorporating the region into China but
with covert support from the CIA
Tibetans continued to fight back
culminating in the 1959 Tibetan uprising
it was quickly quelled with tens of
thousands of Tibetans killed and the
Dalai Lama fled to India China then
proceeded to destroy thousands of
monasteries and suppress Tibetan culture
the socialist land reforms of Mao
Zedong’s so-called Great Leap Forward
contributed to the great Chinese famine
that killed millions while his Cultural
Revolution left a legacy of violence and
destruction
today the Tibetan government-in-exile
continues to claim sovereignty but China
remains unflinching in its control
number two Korea when Japan relinquished
Korea at the end of the Second World War
the Soviet Union took charge of the
north and the u.s. the South but Cold
War politics ended hopes of peaceful
reunification and with support from the
Soviet Union the North invaded the South
precipitating the Korean War that war
ended with an estimated 1.2 million dead
and the borders unchanged however both
North and South Korea continued to claim
the whole Korean Peninsula the North’s
aggressive and hyperbolic threats
against the South have led to mounting
international tension particularly
between North Korea and the United
States before we unveil our number-one
pick here are some honorable mentions
[Music]
number one Israel and Palestine this
conflict is as polarizing as it is
intractable and has spawned a war with
seemingly no end in sight after the
Holocaust the UN resolved to divide
Palestine which was under British
governance into Arab and Jewish states
for Jewish settlers this fulfilled the
dream of a national homeland but to
Palestinians it seemed like a
continuation of colonialism after
subsequent wars Israel now occupies much
of the territory with extensive
settlements in the West Bank though a
two-state solution has long been the
favoured potential route to peace
negotiations have repeatedly broken down
with the last round of negotiations
starting in 2013 and being suspended the
following year do you agree with our
picks check out these other great clips
from WatchMojo and subscribe for new
videos every day
[Music]
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