copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Brunei (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-10-13): October 13, 2020 By Ryan McNamaraTensions in the South China Sea increased last April when a Chinese coast guard ship sank a Vietnamese fishing boat near the Paracel Islands—a fiercely disputed territory in the South China Sea. Disputes over island territories in the region have endured for decades, with China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei all making overlapping territorial claims. The region is rich in natural resources and biodiversity, holding vast fish stocks and an estimated 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 cubic feet of natural gas. [...] Tensions in the South China Sea increased last April when a Chinese coast guard ship sank a Vietnamese fishing boat near the Paracel Islands—a fiercely disputed territory in the South China Sea. Disputes over island territories in the region have endured for decades, with China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei all making overlapping territorial claims. The region is rich in natural resources and biodiversity, holding vast fish stocks and an estimated 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 cubic feet of natural gas. [...] A key strategy of territory claimants has been to build islands in order to increase military presence in the region. Among the various countries involved in the conflict, China has been the most aggressive in building islands and is responsible for the majority of environmental damages caused by such projects. In total, China has built an estimated 3,200 acres of artificial islands, most of which are located in the Spratly Islands archipelago.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Brunei (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-06-17): That’s sparked fears that if an incident escalates, it could spark a wider conflict. In the latest incident, a Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship collided near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Monday. China’s coast guard said a Philippine supply ship entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands that’s part of territory claimed by several nations. The Philippine military called the Chinese coast guard’s report "deceptive and misleading." Here’s a look at some other incidents and developments in recent months: June 4: Philippine officials say the Chinese coast guard seized food dropped for Filipino naval personnel on an outpost on Second Thomas Shoal. Philippine Gen. Romeo Brawner says the Chinese may have suspected the packages contained construction materials intended to reinforce the rusty Philippine navy ship deliberately run aground at Second Thomas Shoal to serve as a Philippine outpost. May 16: About 100 Filipino activists on wooden boats change plans to distribute food to Filipinos based on the Second Thomas Shoal after being shadowed by Chinese coast guard ships through the night. Instead, they distribute food packs and fuel southeast of the disputed territory.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Brunei (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2017-05-24): Unfortunately, however, the South China Sea is home to a number of longstanding territorial disputes. Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam have overlapping sovereignty claims to various maritime features and areas of water in the South China Sea. Most of these territorial disputes center on features located in the Paracel and Spratly island groups. [...] On January 29, 2016, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur conducted a freedom of navigation operation by transiting under innocent passage within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island in the Paracel Islands. Triton Island is occupied by the Chinese, but also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. The island is legally entitled to a territorial sea. The freedom of navigation operation was designed to challenge policies by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam requiring prior permission or notification of transit under innocent passage in the territorial sea. Accordingly, the United States did not provide notification, or request permission, in advance of transiting under innocent passage. The United States does not take a position on which nation has sovereignty over each feature in the Spratly Islands, and the operation was not intended to challenge any country’s claims of sovereignty over land features. [...] Location: Spratly Islands (Fiery Cross Reef)
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Brunei (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-06-23): The main claims in the SCS, defined as a semi-enclosed body of water, involve the Paracel and Spratly Islands. While the Paracel archipelago has been controlled by the PRC since 1974 and is claimed by Vietnam and the ROC, the Spratly Islands possess the greatest number of overlapping claims in the region, with China and the ROC making claims against islands held by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei (Emmers 2003). A broad overview of those claims is provided in Table 1. [...] Malaysia also makes EEZ claims over parts of the Spratly Islands, which unlike the Philippines, Vietnam, and China, are consistent the rules set down by UNCLOS. However, Malaysia claims that the islands of the Spratly archipelago that are within its EEZ should be considered Malaysian territory, which deviates somewhat from a strict reading of UNCLOS, as those islands are not inhabited and therefore are not covered.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Brunei (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2018-02-26): Historically, the South China Sea has been a multi-faceted resource since ancient times. However, the tranquility that the area enjoyed for most of its existence was disturbed in the late twentieth century when a physical occupation of the Spratly Islands (situated around Nansha) took place. Colonization of this zone continued throughout the rest of the century until nearly all of the Spratlys were under littoral control by some surrounding nation-state (Gao & Jia, n.d.). Moving forward, after the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982 established that the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of a state would extend 200 nautical miles from the continental shelf of the coast of that state, many of the nations surrounding this area laid claim to the same spans of ocean (Image 1). In the case of the Spratly Islands, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Brunei have all claimed island territories and EEZ portions. Image 2 depicts the complicated political situation that is found in the South China Sea and how it has been attempted to divide this region.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Brunei (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-17): China’s sweeping claims of sovereignty over the sea—and the sea’s estimated 11 billion barrels of untapped oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas—have antagonized competing claimants Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. As early as the 1970s, countries began to claim islands and various zones in the South China Sea, such as the Spratly Islands, which possess rich natural resources and fishing areas. The failure of Chinese and Southeast Asian leaders to resolve the disputes diplomatically could undermine international laws governing maritime disputes and encourage destabilizing arms buildups. [...] Upon assuming office in June 2022, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. rejected the conciliatory stance toward China adopted by his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. The Philippines’ most contentious disputes with China center on the Second Thomas Shoal of the Spratly Islands, which lies within the Philippines’ 200-mile EEZ. In 1999, the Philippines intentionally grounded a ship to reinforce its territorial claims to the area which it calls the West Philippine Sea. Since then, the Philippine Coast Guard has conducted monthly resupply missions to its military contingent on the ship, known as the BRP Sierra Madre. Chinese Coast Guard vessels began to employ dangerous tactics to harass Philippine resupply missions in 2023, leading to heightened clashes. Collisions have become increasingly common, and the Chinese Coast Guard has used a military-grade laser and repeatedly fired water cannons against Philippine ships. On June 17, a Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship collided near the Second Thomas Shoal; both sides blamed the other for the incident.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Brunei (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-29): Spratly Islands, large group of reefs, shoals, atolls, and small islets in the South China Sea of the Pacific Ocean. They are located north of insular Malaysia and are roughly midway between Vietnam and the Philippines, and they are claimed—wholly or in part—by several countries in the region. The Spratlys are spread out over a vast area of ocean measuring some 158,000 square miles (409,000 square km). A great number of them are submerged. Of the 12 main naturally occurring islets, the largest is the 90-acre (36-hectare) Itu Aba. Another, called Spratly Island or Storm Island, measures 900 by 1,500 feet (275 by 450 metres). Turtles and seabirds are the only wildlife. There is no permanent human habitation. [...] By the late 20th century, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Malaysia (with its occupation of Turumbu Layang-Layang reef [June 1983]), and the Philippines all had conflicting claims to the Spratlys, supported (except, initially, in the case of China) by garrisons on various islands. Although Brunei did not claim any territory in the Spratlys, it did declare an EEZ that contained a Spratly reef. The United States, which has been the dominant presence in the Pacific region for most of the period since the early 20th century, has not recognized the claims of any country on the Spratlys, insisting instead that the Spratlys are in international waters.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Brunei (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-01): Disputed Territory [includes the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands] [...] Brunei Darussalam – to South & South East Asia [...] Disputed Territory [includes the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands] – to South & South East Asia
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Brunei (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-05-19): To the claimants vying for the Spratlys, the implications of territorial sovereignty over the islands under the LOS are all too clear. In addition to its potential resources, the Spratlys archipelago occupies a strategic location. Lying between the coast of Vietnam on the west and the Philippines to the east, the Spratlys occupy a potential blocking position for ships transiting the South China Sea. Aircraft based in the Spratlys would be within range of the Malacca and Sunda Straits, bottlenecks through which shipping in the South China Sea must pass in order to enter the Indian Ocean. A military presence, such as an airfield located in the Spratlys, could effectively halt all shipping in the South China Sea in the event of a conflict. This is a fact of no small consequence to nations in the region, who are currently restructuring military relationships in the wake of the end of the Cold War. Today, six Asian nations-the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China-vigorously assert claims of sovereignty over all or parts of the Spratlys.
Claim: Chiengi is a territory of Democratic Republic of Congo (Chiengi, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-02-26): Territories of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The territories of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are administrative divisions of provinces. Territories are further divided into sectors, chiefdoms, and communes. They are led by an administrator and, for the most part, take the name of the town that is their administrative center. [...] Each territory is led by a territory administrator (fr. administrateur de territoire) assisted by two assistant territory administrators (fr. administrateurs de territoire assistants). They are appointed by the central government and put under the direction of the provincial governor.[3]
Claim: Chiengi is a territory of Democratic Republic of Congo (Chiengi, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-06-12): The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the largest country of sub-Saharan Africa, occupying some 2,344,858 square kilometres (905,355 sq mi).[1] Most of the country lies within the vast hollow of the Congo River basin.[1] The vast, low-lying central area is a plateau-shaped basin sloping toward the west, covered by tropical rainforest and criss-crossed by rivers. The forest center is surrounded by mountainous terraces in the west, plateaus merging into savannas in the south and southwest. Dense grasslands extend beyond the Congo River in the north. High mountains of the Ruwenzori Range (some above 5,000 m or 16,000 ft) are found on the eastern borders with Rwanda and Uganda (see Albertine Rift montane forests for a description of this area). [...] D.R. Congo is one of six African states that straddles the equator; it's the largest African state that has the equator passing through it. Very narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is the only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rainforest in the central river basin and eastern highlands. [...] - ^ "KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO". Weatherbase. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
Claim: Chiengi is a territory of Democratic Republic of Congo (Chiengi, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-03): - Berlin Conference of 1884-1885: During the late 19th century, European powers held the Berlin Conference to formalize the division of Africa into territories for colonization. The Congo River basin, rich in natural resources and strategically located, became a point of interest for multiple colonial powers. [...] - Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo): The area on the south side of the Congo River was claimed by Belgium. This territory became known as the Congo Free State, a personal property of King Leopold II of Belgium, and later became the Belgian Congo. It eventually became the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with its capital in Kinshasa. [...] Also see: Why are Brazzaville & Kinshasa So Close Together?
Claim: Chiengi is a territory of Democratic Republic of Congo (Chiengi, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-20): Bantu, Sudanic, and other migrants from West and Northeastern Africa arrived in the Congo River Basin between 2000 B.C. and A.D. 500. The territory that is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo is extremely diverse, with more than 200 ethnic groups that trace their histories to many communal organizations and kingdoms. The Kingdom of Kongo, for example, ruled the area around the mouth of the Congo River from the 14th to 19th centuries. Meanwhile, to the south and east, the Kingdoms of Luba and Lunda, respectively, were also notable political groupings in the territory and ruled from the 16th and 17th centuries to the 19th century. These kingdoms were invaded and splintered by European prospectors in the Congo Basin in the late 1800’s, sponsored by King LEOPOLD II of Belgium, and eventually were forced to grant Leopold the rights to the Congo territory to make it his private property. During this period, known as the Congo Free State, the king's private colonial military forced the local population to produce rubber. From 1885 to 1908, millions of Congolese people died as a result of disease, inhumane treatment, and exploitation. [...] Together for Change ("Ensemble") [Moise KATUMBI]
Claim: Chiengi is a territory of Democratic Republic of Congo (Chiengi, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-03-30): Chiengi or is a historic colonial boma of the British Empire in central Africa and today is a settlement in the Luapula Province of Zambia, and headquarters of Chiengi District. Chiengi is in the north-east corner of Lake Mweru, and at the foot of wooded hills dividing that lake from Lake Mweru Wantipa, and overlooking a dambo (marshy plain) stretching northwards from the lake, where the Chiengi rivulet (the origin of the name) flows down from the hills.[1] [...] Chiengi Boma was probably the first colonial post in what was to be called North-Eastern Rhodesia (it was still referred to as part of 'Zambezia' at the time), and was one of the most remote outposts of the British Empire, a lonely posting which sent more than one colonial officer mad.[1] For a number of years the boma was removed to the Kalungwishi River, and during this period the Belgian colonial authorities in Pweto, just across the border in DR Congo, controlled the northern end of the lake including the western extremity of Chiengi District, the so-called Lunchinda enclave west of the Lunchinda River. The British then re-established the boma at Chiengi but the eventual outcome of de facto Belgian control of the Lunchinda enclave led to it eventually being ceded to DR Congo by Zambia—see the article on the Luapula Province border dispute.
Claim: Chiengi is a territory of Democratic Republic of Congo (Chiengi, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-08-17): Together for Change (Ensemble") [Moise KATUMBI] Unified Lumumbist Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA] [...] ACP, AfDB, AU, CEMAC, CEPGL, COMESA, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Claim: Chiengi is a territory of Democratic Republic of Congo (Chiengi, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-06-20): Following the Rwandan Patriotic Front’s (RPF) victory against the genocidal Rwandan government, the new Tutsi-led government began its involvement in DRC (then known as The Republic of Zaire). Rwandan troops, under the leadership of President Paul Kagame, and Congo-based Tutsi militias with Rwandan backing launched an invasion of Zaire, which was ruled at the time by Dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Kigali justified both efforts by arguing that Hutu groups in eastern DRC were still a threat to their Tutsi population and that the Mobutu regime was harboring Hutu extremists who had fled across the border. Rwanda waged the First Congo War against Zaire with the help of other African states (most significantly Uganda, but also Angola and Burundi), who had their own security concerns related to Mobutu’s support of rebel groups across the continent. The Rwandan coalition’s invasion was coordinated with the help of Zaire’s then-opposition leader, Laurent Kabila. Thousands died; some casualties were former Hutu militants and members of armed groups, but many were refugees and non-combatant Congolese in North and South Kivu, in eastern DRC. Methods of warfare were brutal, especially those employed by Rwandan soldiers and Tutsi groups.
Claim: Chiengi is a territory of Democratic Republic of Congo (Chiengi, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-03): In the late 15th Century the Congo River delta was a major commercial hub for trade. That is the period when the inhabitants of the Congo River delta first came into contact with Europeans. Leopold II of Belgium acquired rights to the Congo territory (Zaire region) at the Conference of Berlin in 1885 and made the land his private property and named it the Congo Free State. In 1908 the Belgian government took it over and then it was called Belgian Congo. On 30 June 1960 it got its independence under the name "Democratic Republic of the Congo". [...] The two countries are neighbors, with the DRC being the larger of the two countries and Republic of Congo to its west. DRC shares borders with Angola, the South Atlantic Ocean, the Republic of Congo, theCentral African Republic, the Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania across Lake Tanganyika, and Zambia. [...] The Democratic Republic of the Congo was formerly known as (in chronological order) the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo-Léopoldville, Congo-Kinshasa, and Zaire (Zaïre in French). These former names are sometimes referred to, as unofficial names, with the exception of Mobutu's discredited Zaire, along with various abbreviations, such as, Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo and DRC.
Claim: Chiengi is a territory of Democratic Republic of Congo (Chiengi, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-08): The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the second-largest country in Africa, only behind Algeria, and the 11th largest in the world. With a land area of 905,000 square miles (2.34 million square kilometers), it’s often compared to Europe in size and has a population of over 99 million. [...] Rebel groups control parts of the country, fighting for control over valuable resources such as copper, cobalt, and diamonds.
Claim: Chiengi is a territory of Democratic Republic of Congo (Chiengi, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-07-15): - Congo-Kasaï (five southwestern districts), - Équateur (five northwestern districts), - Orientale Province and Katanga (previous vice-governments).[3] [...] - List of provincial governors of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Lists of provincial governors of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - List of provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Human Development Index - Districts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Districts of the Belgian Congo - Territories of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - ISO 3166-2:CD [...] - ^ "Provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo Kinshasa)". Statoids. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
Claim: Chiengi is a territory of Democratic Republic of Congo (Chiengi, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-06): The Democratic Republic of the Congo,[b] also known as the DR Congo, the DRC, or Congo-Kinshasa, is a country in Central Africa. By land area the Congo is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 109 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous Francophone country in the world. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the economic center. The country is bordered by the Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania (across Lake Tanganyika), Zambia, Angola, the Cabinda exclave of Angola, and the South Atlantic Ocean. [...] Before Bantu expansion, the territory comprising the Democratic Republic of the Congo was home to Central Africa's oldest settled groups, the Mbuti peoples. Most of the remnants of their hunter-gatherer culture remain in the present time. [...] - ^ "Home". Kimbilio. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
Claim: Chiengi is a territory of Democratic Republic of Congo (Chiengi, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-09): Democratic Republic of the Congo [...] Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), country located in central Africa. Officially known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the country has a 25-mile (40-km) coastline on the Atlantic Ocean but is otherwise landlocked. It is the second largest country on the continent; only Algeria is larger. The capital, Kinshasa, is located on the Congo River about 320 miles (515 km) from its mouth. The largest city in central Africa, it serves as the country’s official administrative, economic, and cultural centre. The country is often referred to by its acronym, the DRC, or called Congo (Kinshasa), with the capital added parenthetically, to distinguish it from the other Congo republic, which is officially called the Republic of the Congo and is often referred to as Congo (Brazzaville).