The People's Republic of China (PRC) has a number of territorial disputes. Many of these disputes are almost identical to those that the Republic of China (ROC) historically had with other countries prior to its retreat to Taiwan. Certain PRC's claims to disputed maritime territories date from prior to the 1949 proclamation of the People's Republic of China.
Background
The asserted territory of the PRC largely corresponds to that of the Qing empire. Many of the PRC's disputes are also almost identical to those that the Republic of China (ROC) historically had with other countries prior to its retreat to Taiwan. In its 1914 constitution, the ROC had asserted, "The territory of the Chinese Republic continues the same as that of the former empire." The 1931 provisional constitution of the ROC stated, "The territory of the Republic of China includes all the provinces, Mongolia, and Tibet." Certain PRC's claims to disputed maritime territories also date from prior to the 1949 proclamation of the People's Republic of China.
Current disputes Bhutan
Bhutan's border with Tibet has never been officially recognized, much less demarcated. The Republic of China based in Taiwan officially maintains a territorial claim on parts of Bhutan to this day. The territorial claim was maintained by the People's Republic of China after the Chinese Communist Party took control of mainland China in the Chinese Civil War.
The 1959 Tibetan Rebellion and the 14th Dalai Lama's arrival in neighboring India made the security of Bhutan's border with China a necessity for Bhutan.Bhutan: a land frozen in time (9 February 1998). BBC. Accessed 30 May 2008. An estimated 6,000 Tibetans fled to Bhutan and were granted asylum, although Bhutan subsequently closed its border to China, fearing more refugees to come. In July 1959, along with the occupation of Tibet, the Chinese People's Liberation Army occupied several Bhutanese exclaves in western Tibet which were under Bhutanese administration for more than 300 years and had been given to Bhutan by Ngawang Namgyal in the 17th century. These included Darchen, Labrang Monastery, Gartok and several smaller monasteries and villages near Mount Kailas.
In 1983, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wu Xueqian and the Bhutanese Foreign Minister Dawa Tsering held talks on establishing bilateral relations in New York. In 1984, China and Bhutan began annual, direct talks over the border dispute.Bhutan-China relations (5 July 2004). BhutanNewsOnline.com. Accessed 30 May 2008. In 1998, China and Bhutan signed a bilateral agreement for maintaining peace on the border. In the agreement, China affirmed its respect for Bhutan's sovereignty and territorial integrity and both sides sought to build ties based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence.India and the upcoming Druk democracy (May 2007). HimalMag.com. Accessed 30 May 2008.Bhutan Gazette (7 June 2007). BhutanGazette. Accessed 30 May 2008. However, China's building of roads on what Bhutan asserts to be Bhutanese territory, allegedly in violation of the 1998 agreement, has provoked tensions. In 2002, however, China presented what it claimed to be 'evidence', asserting its ownership of disputed tracts of land; after negotiations, an interim agreement was reached.
On 11 August 2016, Bhutan Foreign Minister Damcho Dorji visited Beijing, the capital of China, for the 24th round of boundary talks with Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao. Both sides made comments to show their readiness to strengthen cooperation in various fields and their hope of settling the boundary issues. In 2024, The New York Times reported that, according to satellite imagery, China had constructed villages inside of disputed territory within Bhutan. Chinese individuals, called "border guardians," received annual subsidies to relocate to newly built villages and paid to conduct border patrols.
India
China and India have various ongoing territorial disputes. The disputes stem from the historical consequences of colonialism in Asia and the lack of clear historical boundary demarcations. There was one historical attempt to set a proposed boundary, the McMahon Line, by Great Britain during the 1913–1914 Simla Convention. The Republic of China rejected the proposed boundary. The unresolved dispute over the boundary became contentious after India gained its independence in 1947 and the People's Republic of China was established in 1949. The disputed borders are complicated by the lack of administrative presence in the disputed areas, which are remote.
India claims Aksai Chin, which is administered by China. During the 1950s, the People's Republic of China built a 1,200 km (750 mi) road connecting Xinjiang and western Tibet, of which 179 km (112 mi) ran south of the Johnson Line through the Aksai Chin region claimed by India. Aksai Chin was easily accessible to the Chinese, but was more difficult for the Indians on the other side of the Karakorams to reach. The Indians did not learn of the existence of the road until 1957, which was confirmed when the road was shown in Chinese maps published in 1958.China's Decision for War with India in 1962 by John W. Garver
The Depsang Plains are located on the border of the Indian union territory of Ladakh and the disputed zone of Aksai Chin. The People's Liberation Army occupied most of the plains during its 1962 war with India, while India controls the western portion of the plains. The dispute remains unresolved.
Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India created on 20 January 1972, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by China, by whom it is called South Tibet. The northern border of Arunachal Pradesh reflects the McMahon Line, a line demarcated by the 1914 Simla Convention between the United Kingdom and the Tibetan government. The Simla Convention was never accepted by the Chinese government, and it was also considered invalid by Tibetans due to unmet conditions specified in the treaty. The boundary was not broadly enforced by the Indian government until 1950. Currently, this territory is administered by India.
Japan
China and Japan have a territorial dispute over a group of uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, the Diaoyu Islands in the People's Republic of China (PRC), and Tiaoyutai Islands in the Republic of China (ROC or Taiwan). Aside from a 1945 to 1972 period of administration by the United States as part of the Ryukyu Islands, the archipelago has been controlled by Japan since 1895. According to Lee Seokwoo, the People's Republic of China (PRC) started taking up the question of sovereignty over the islands in the latter half of 1970 when evidence relating to the existence of oil reserves surfaced.Lee, Seokwoo et al. (2002). The ROC also claims the islands. The territory is close to key shipping lanes and rich fishing grounds, and there may be oil reserves in the area."Q&A: China-Japan islands row" BBC News 11 September 2012
Japan argues that it surveyed the islands in the late 19th century and found them to be terra nullius (Latin: land belonging to no one); subsequently, China acquiesced to Japanese sovereignty until the 1970s. The PRC and the ROC argue that documentary evidence prior to the First Sino-Japanese War indicates Chinese possession and that the territory is accordingly a Japanese seizure that should be returned as the rest of Imperial Japan's conquests were returned in 1945.
The islands are included within the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan, meaning that a defense of the islands by Japan would require the United States to come to Japan's aid.
In September 2012, the Japanese government purchased three of the disputed islands from their private owner, prompting large-scale protests in China. As of early February 2013, the situation has been regarded as "the most serious for Sino-Japanese relations in the post-war period in terms of the risk of militarized conflict."
South China Sea
The PRC and ROC claimed sovereignty over an area surrounding shoals and islands in the South China Sea, as well as a historical right over the area within the nine-dash line. In 1932, China sent a Note Verbale to France, declaring that China's southernmost territory was the Paracels. In 1933, when France occupied six features in the Spratlys, China did not protest as it recognized the year before that its southernmost territory was limited to the Paracels.
In the 1970s, the discovery of the potential for petroleum resources in the South China Sea prompted an increase in occupation activity by claimants. From 1971 to 1973, the Philippines began occupying five features and South Vietnam began occupying six. Concerned that its claims would be weakened by the activity of other claimants, China increased its physical presence in the area. It conducted surveys around the Paracels and the People's Liberation Army Navy built a harbor and wharf on Wood Island (in the Paracels) in 1971.
In 1974, China and South Vietnam fought the Battle of the Paracel Islands. China took a defensive posture, directing its forces "not to fire the first shot; fight back when attacked". The battle was relatively brief and China defeated South Vietnam. China moved quickly to consolidate its position in the area and has maintained control of the Paracel Islands since.
The 2012 Scarborough Shoal fishing dispute and resulting standoff between China and the Philippines prompted the Philippines to initiate the South China Sea Arbitration in 2013. China declined to participate in the arbitration and stated that it would not accept any arbitration result. As part of its grounds for nonparticipation and nonacceptance, China cited the fact that China is a signatory to the 2006 UNCLOS exclusion clause which removes sovereignty and boundary delimitations issues from arbitration procedures. Because China did not participate, the arbitrators based their view of the Chinese position on China's 2014 white paper and letters sent to the tribunal from China's ambassador to the Netherlands. In 2016, the nine-dash line created by China was declared as invalid by the South China Sea Arbitration ruling.
Citizen survey in China A 2013 survey of Chinese adults found that respondents who sourced their information about the dispute from traditional mass media (which are more subject to state regulation) were less supportive of the idea that China should adopt hardline policies in the South China Sea. The researchers who conducted the survey concluded that China's state-media coverage of the dispute was "more of a dampener than a driver of nationalistic policy preference."
Taiwan
The PRC claims the de jure administration of Taiwan Province, as well as mainland-nearby islands of Kinmen and Matsu Islands, currently controlled by the Republic of China (ROC). However, despite the diplomatic stalemate between the governments in Beijing and Taipei, both governments agree on many of the same territorial disputes, namely the Senkaku Islands and the nine-dash line, or the eleven-dash line in the case of the ROC.
Resolved disputes China was generally generous in resolving disputes with its southwest neighbors. According to academic Swaran Singh, China's generosity was likely motivated by the security concern of reducing foreign support for disgruntled groups within China's southwest border.