copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Bakassi is a territory of Nigeria (Bakassi, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-07-09): The border conflict between Cameroon and Nigeria was ignited by competing claims of sovereignty over the Bakassi peninsula. Cameroon brought the case to the ICJ to resolve its claims on Bakassi. The CNMC was then established in November 2002 by the UN Secretary-General at the request of Presidents Paul Biya and Olusegun Obasanjo of Cameroon and Nigeria respectively. The main goal of the CNMC is to facilitate the implementation of the 10 October 2002 judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Cameroon-Nigeria boundary dispute. [...] The CNMC facilitated the peaceful transfer of authority over Bakassi to Cameroon through the Greentree Agreement, in conformity with the ICJ judgment. Bakassi is largely populated by persons identified as Nigerian nationals and it was the biggest stake in the border disagreement. Beyond Bakassi, the CNMC’s success in ensuring a peaceful resolution of the Parties’ competing claims and characterizations of their common land boundary is indeed a great achievement. It has required technical expertise, diplomacy, patience, perseverance, and the ability to inspire trust and confidence.
Claim: Bakassi is a territory of Nigeria (Bakassi, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2013-08-14): Following a half-decade of preparations, Cameroon is assuming full control of the oil-rich peninsula of Bakassi, which has long been at the center of a territorial dispute with neighboring Nigeria. In keeping with a 2002 International Court of Justice ruling that ceded the territory to Yaounde, some 300,000 Nigerians living on the peninsula — approximately 90 percent of its population — must now obtain residence permits and be treated as foreign nationals living in Cameroon if they choose to stay after Wednesday's deadline. [...] Although Bakassi has been experiencing changes since the Nigerian military and administration left in 2008, residents such as 36-year-old Nigerian businesswoman Janette Etta says Cameroon has yet to make its presence felt, neglecting even to circulate currency. [...] The legacy left by Nigeria in Bakassi is still strong. Nigeria has trained health workers and teachers who remain in the territory.
Claim: Bakassi is a territory of Nigeria (Bakassi, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-04-04): Following a settlement dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon 13 years ago, Abuja relinquished a claim on Bakassi and handed itback to Yaoundé. Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians moved back to Nigeria, relying on assurances that federal authorities would address issues to do with their welfare, shelter and livelihoods. But to date, thousands of displaced Bakassi people have yet to be resettled and reintegrated. [...] "The issue of Bakassi [settlement] is yet to be fully resolved because we are still suffering and some of our people had to go back to the peninsula again," Bassey says, as he blames politicians and local leaders whom he believes are "the real problem of [the] Bakassi." [...] In the far corner of a camp for Bakassi returnees, in southern Nigeria’s Cross River state, sit 42 new apartments; built by federal authorities for Nigerians who returned from the disputed territory of Bakassi.
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-06): The 1959 Tibetan Rebellion and the 14th Dalai Lama's arrival in neighbouring India made the security of Bhutan's border with China a necessity for Bhutan. 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.[5][11] 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.[8] These included Darchen, Labrang Monastery, Gartok and several smaller monasteries and villages near Mount Kailas.[12][13][14][15] [...] - ^ "Ladakhi and Bhutanese Enclaves in Tibet" (PDF). John Bray. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-12-02. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-05-07): Apart from wandering ascetics, seasonal nomads, and a handful of refugees from Tibet in the late 1950s, the Beyul has been uninhabited for centuries. At an average altitude of 12,000 feet, until now it has had no buildings, roads, or settlements apart from two small temples abandoned decades ago, stone huts for shepherds, and perhaps three basic shelters or campsites used by Bhutanese frontier troops. Entering the Beyul from Tibet, now part of China, involves a journey across passes the height of Mont Blanc; few other than mountaineers would normally attempt it. The second enclave now being settled by China in northern Bhutan is even higher: The Menchuma Valley, 1.2 miles to the east of the Beyul and 19 square miles in size, is at an altitude of 14,700 feet at its lowest point, apart from one ravine. Like the Beyul, it lies inside the Kurtoe subdistrict of Lhuntse and until now has never had settlements, roads, or buildings.
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-07-28): The reason for that decision lay in a new territorial claim by China. As Foreign Policy detailed in Part 1 of this investigation, the Namgung La marks the traditional border between Tibet and Bhutan. Thirty years after China annexed Tibet in the 1950s, Beijing changed its view of that border and declared that a 232-square-mile area of northern Bhutan, lying to the south of the Namgung La, had once belonged to Tibet and therefore was now part of China. That area was the Beyul Khenpajong, a remote and uninhabited region, famous throughout the Himalayas as a "hidden valley," that is exceptionally sacred to the Bhutanese. [...] China claims four areas in the west of Bhutan, three in the north, and Sakteng in the east. Since 1990, China has been offering to give up approximately 191 square miles of its claims in the north if Bhutan yields some 104 square miles of its territory in the west to China. Bhutan relinquished its claim to the Kula Khari area (often written as Kulha Kangri) in the 1980s or soon after, attributing its earlier claim to a cartographic error.
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-11): Bhutan and China have held 25 rounds of boundary talks so far, with both sides ready to conclude negotiations and advance the process to set up official diplomatic ties. [...] Bhutan and China initiated boundary talks in 1984 and have since focused on mainly three disputed areas — Jakarlung and Pasamlung areas in north Bhutan, and the Doklam area in west Bhutan. [...] India considers the Doklam plateau as an undisputed territory of Bhutan, whereas, Beijing regards it as an extension of its Chumbi Valley, which lies between Sikkim and Bhutan.
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-04): New satellite imagery has revealed Chinese expansion into territory previously controlled by Bhutan even as China continues to negotiate a border agreement with its neighbor to the south. [...] Tshering hinted in a recent interview with an Indian newspaper that negotiations with Beijing to settle their disputed border could end in an exchange of territory. Observers believed the most likely concessions to be Jakarlung and the neighboring Menchuma Valley that China has already seized. In Menchuma, east of Jakarlung, Chinese troops were said to be present in areas previously under Bhutan's control, with local Bhutanese denied access.
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-02-29): To date, Bhutan does not have official diplomatic relations with China, while it maintains a "special relationship" with India. But the triangular relationship is not as simple as it might appear. [...] As China’s influence grows, Bhutan’s foreign policy perception has been changing. The idea of China as a South Asian geopolitical entity has become a reality; in that context, stable and normalized relations between Bhutan and China could improve Bhutan-China-India relations. China will get a clearer picture of Bhutan’s position in the triangle when Thimphu and Beijing can discuss issues directly.
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-09): The 25th Round of Boundary Talks between Bhutan and China was held in Beijing on 23rd and 24th October 2023. Lyonpo (Dr) Tandi Dorji, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade of Bhutan, led the Bhutanese delegation and H.E. Mr. Sun Weidong, Vice Foreign Minister of China, led the Chinese delegation. [...] During the talks, the two leaders of the delegations signed the Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Bhutan and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Responsibilities and Functions of the Joint Technical Team (JTT) on the Delimitation and Demarcation of the Bhutan-China Boundary. The JTT was established during the 13th Expert Group Meeting to assist the Expert Group in the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Three-Step Roadmap.
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-08-23): Bhutan-China relations refer to the international relationship between the Kingdom of Bhutan and the People's Republic of China. As of present, Bhutan and China do not share an official diplomatic relationship with one another.[1] [...] Bhutan's border with Tibet has never been officially demarcated. 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.[citation needed] With the increase in soldiers on the Chinese side of the Sino-Bhutanese border after the 17-point agreement between the Tibetan government and the central government of the PRC, Bhutan withdrew its representative from Lhasa.[9][10][11][verification needed] [...] Boundary issues [edit]With the entry of the People's Liberation Army into Tibet, some Tibetan settlements in western Tibet, formerly controlled by the Bhutanese government, came under the control of the People's Republic of China. While some sources believe that the Bhutan-China border was settled in a secret agreement during 1961, neither country has ever publicly acknowledged such an agreement.[18] In the 1980s, Bhutan relinquished its claim to a 154-square-mile area called Kula Khari on its northern border with China.[7] In 1998, the two countries signed a peace and tranquility agreement, although border disputes remain.[18] A 2002 official statement by the King of Bhutan to the National Assembly, specifies that there are still four disputed areas between Bhutan and China.[19]
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-05-02): The Sino-Bhutanese border dispute goes back several decades. China lays claim to around 495 square kilometers in northcentral Bhutan and 269 sq km in western Bhutan. Since 2020, it has claimed another 740 sq km of territory in the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in eastern Bhutan. The territory claimed in western Bhutan includes the Doklam Plateau, which is of strategic significance to India. There is mounting evidence, backed by satellite images, that China is engaging in building infrastructure inside Bhutanese territory. However, in an interview with the Belgian daily La Libre, Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering said in March 2023 that "no intrusion as reported in the media" has happened into Bhutanese territory. That raised concern in India that Tshering is perhaps paving the way for Bhutan to cede territory to China to settle its border, which would weaken India’s security. Medha Bisht, associate professor at the South Asian University in New Delhi, who is an expert on Bhutan and multistakeholder negotiations and dialogues, shared her insights on the complexities of the Sino-Bhutanese territorial dispute with The Diplomat’s South Asia editor, Sudha Ramachandran. Bisht draws attention to the different principles that guide India and China in demarcating boundaries. In the context of the China-Bhutan border at the trijunction, China wants Mount Gipmochi to determine where the border runs, but India and Bhutan want the boundary line to run from Batangla to Merugla and Sinchula, which would shift the China-Bhutan border at the trijunction farther north.
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-04-26): Bhutan is one of the two countries with which China is yet to resolve its land border dispute. The other country is India, which has a long-running disagreement over its Himalayan frontier with China. [...] Bhutan and China have disputes over territory in the north and in the west in the Himalayas. [...] He also expressed hope that Bhutan and China will be able to demarcate some of its boundaries in a meeting or two. The two countries have been holding border negotiations since 1984. Mr Tshering also said that there was no Chinese intrusion of its territory.
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-11-18): The People’s Republic of China has maritime or land border disputes with many of its neighbors: Brunei, Bhutan, India, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Bhutan shares over 400 kilometer-long border with China. Recently, Bhutan and China signed a MoU "for expediting the Bhutan-China Boundary" negotiations. It is believed that the roadmap had been finalized during the 10th expert group meeting in Kunming in April 2021. The roadmap might include setting up a framework first, confirming the specific disputes with an exchange of maps, and then a resolution stage. [...] Earlier negotiations had dealt with territories in Bhutan’s north and west, including Pasamlung and Jakarlung valleys in the north and Doklam to the west. China may offer a package solution that would see Beijing controlling Doklam and ceding the northern valleys. The inclusion of Sakteng into the dispute was seen by some observers as a negotiating tactic to bring Bhutan back to the table. [...] Bhutan is not the only country where China is pressing its size and wealth advantage in territorial disputes. China has well-known maritime disputes in the South China Sea (pitting China against Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam) and East China Sea (where China claims islands administered by Japan).
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2018-02-16): The Treaty also confirmed the delimitation of the Tibet-Ladakh boundary at Demchok. Successive Maharajas of Kashmir continued to abide by these treaty obligations and collected taxes from Menser villages from 1846 until the early 1960s. Similarly, Bhutan also enjoyed legal rights over the Darchen-Labrang enclave consisting of a series of monasteries near Mount Kailash and Gartok. [...] Clearly, the Bhutanese enclaves of Darchen-Labrang in Tibet also met with the same fate under Nehru’s instructions. [...] Although in its 1959 Notes India had sought the restoration of Bhutan’s rightful authority over Bhutanese enclaves in Tibet, it surprisingly did not mention its own sovereign claim over Menser. This, despite the Official Report issued later in 1961 providing a full account of India’s historical, administrative and revenue rights over five villages near Kailash-Manasarovar. The Report also provided a full record of the Maharaja’s jurisdiction on Menser, which was one of the 110 villages that fell under Ladakh Tehsil. The Report is backed by documents including the J&K Revenue Assessment Report of 1902 and Settlement Report of 1908, Census Reports from 1901 to 1937, and Revenue records from 1901 to 1948, among others.
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-06-06): From China’s point of view, recommencing trade with Bhutan is part of an overall strategy in the Himalayas, which has been built in the global setting of the development of China’s western dependencies. The resumption of trans- Himalayan trade is a key component of that strategy. During the occupation of Tibet, China occupied 8 western Tibetan enclaves under Bhutan administration. A 1961 Chinese map also revealed China claiming territories in Nepal, Bhutan and the Kingdom of Sikkim (Now part of India). There have been incursions by Tibetan herdsmen and Chinese soldiers that pricked tensions in Bhutan. As per official reports by the King of Bhutan to the National Assembly, there are four disputed areas between China and Bhutan. It was in 1988 that the problems for Bhutan started when China sent PLA troops to erect roads and began occupying Bhutanese territory. But the international citizenry never took note of Bhutan’s complaints.
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-07-25): In the wake of this development the British encouraged the creation of Bhutan under a hereditary king in 1907, recognised it through a 1910 treaty, and brought it under its own "suzerainty." Bhutan was seen as a buffer between India and Chinese-controlled Tibet. It was in 1954 that China first published a map claiming large areas of Bhutan. Following the Tibetan revolt, China seized a number of enclaves held by Bhutan in Tibet. Bhutan, as noted earlier, was not party to the 1890 convention and has not ratified it at any point. However, the original survey of the Bhutan boundary and the first official map of Bhutan was made with the help of the Survey of India between 1961-1963. [...] The Bhutanese decided to hold boundary talks with China in 1980 and in preparation, began gathering material from their own archives, as well as those available in India and the UK. Data on the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) patrolling limits, administrative limits and local practices were also ascertained. It was only after this process that the Bhutanese established their claim lines that were plotted on the map that was approved by the members of the 68thsession of the National Assembly in 1989. In the process, Bhutan voluntarily shed territory, though its details were not immediately disclosed. For example, older maps showed the Kula Kangri mountain and its surrounding areas within Bhutan, but the new one showed them clearly in Tibetan territory.
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-02): Bhutan [edit]Bhutan has long had strong cultural, historical, religious and economic connections to Tibet. 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.[4] 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.[4][5][6] 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.[4][7] 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.[4][7] 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.[8] These included Darchen, Labrang Monastery, Gartok and several smaller monasteries and villages near Mount Kailas.[9][10][11][12] [...] - ^ "Ladakhi and Bhutanese Enclaves in Tibet" (PDF). John Bray. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-12-02. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-07-23): Until recently, the Sino-Bhutanese border dispute involved territory in the western and central sectors only. Beijing claimed 764 square kilometers of Bhutanese territory: 495 sq km in the Jakurlung and Pasamlung Valleys in north-central Bhutan and another 269 sq km in western Bhutan. [...] China’s claims over Bhutanese territory are indirect, stemming from its claims over Tibet. When the Qing dynasty extended Chinese rule over Tibet in the 18th century, the Tibetan ruler Polhane, who apparently held suzerainty over Bhutan, passed this on to Tibet’s Chinese overlord. China bases its territorial claims in Bhutan on the latter’s vassalage to Tibet. [...] China began asserting its claims over Bhutan with increasing vigor in the late 19th century to counter growing British influence there. In 1930, Mao Zedong claimed that Bhutan (among other Himalayan kingdoms) fell within the "the correct boundaries of China." The People’s Republic of China was even more aggressive in asserting such claims; official maps showed parts of Bhutanese territory as part of China. Moreover, during its annexation of Tibet, China briefly occupied eight Bhutanese enclaves in western Bhutan. Chinese incursions into Bhutanese territory have continued, as has China’s building of roads in disputed areas. This despite the fact that under Clause 3 of the 1998 Treaty to Maintain Peace and Tranquility on the Bhutan-China border areas, the two sides agreed to maintain the status quo on the border areas.
Claim: Bhutanese enclaves is a territory of Republic of China (Bhutanese enclaves, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-02-05): The PRC also tends to see Bhutan to some extent as a part of its own territory. In 1930, for instance, Mao Zedong claimed that Bhutan fell under "the correct boundaries of China." Official maps of the PRC released in 1954 and 1958 reflected Beijing’s expanding territorial claims in Bhutan, and in 1959, amid its annexation of Tibet, the pRC occupied eight Bhutanese enclaves in western Bhutan. [4] The bloody suppression of the Tibetan uprising and the flight of the 14th Dalai Lama and his followers left a deep impression on the Bhutanese. Accounts of Chinese atrocities on Tibetans who fled to Bhutan convinced them that the Chinese were "out to destroy Buddhism and Buddhists" (China Brief, April 20, 2017). Even the PRC’s most recent standard national map includes disputed Bhutanese territories as its own (People’s Daily App, August 28, 2023).