copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Tuva is a territory of Republic of China (Tuva, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-06-01): The article discusses the research issues related to Tuva, the region with a unique Asian culture. It has been a Soviet-Russian territory since 1944. The "maternal" ethnic group of the Tuvans, the majority of the Republic’s population lives here. In Tuvan studies, the difference of research views and scholars’ affiliation to different traditions of the world’s schools of thought is very clearly noted. Researchers from different countries consider its legal status as a territory of Russia in different ways. One point of view is that the incorporation of Tuva into the USSR should be regarded as an annexation (it is a viewpoint shared by many researchers from Western Europe and the USA; after the 1990s some authors from the former territories of the USSR started to share it as well). The second point of view is common among Russian and Tuvan historians: the integration of Tuva was a natural result of the rapprochement of the Tuvan and Russian peoples. Researchers into the history of Asian countries, including China and Mongolia, express the third point of view: Tuva was a part of the Outer Mongolia and was taken away by Russia, but it must be returned.
Claim: Tuva is a territory of Republic of China (Tuva, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-10-19): Located in the deep south of Siberia, the Tuva Republic is one of Russia’s most isolated and culturally unique regions. Nominally independent between the two world wars, Tuva was one of the last territories added to the Soviet Union. Today, Tuva is a land of contradictions: famed for its throat singing and shamanism around the world, the region remains among the most disconnected inside Russia. No railroad line reaches the republic, and flights to Kyzyl, Tuva’s capital, are few and far between. The quickest way in is a five-hour taxi ride through the Sayan mountains and across the vast Siberian steppe. Perhaps because of its isolation, Tuva remains culturally vibrant. Ethnic Tuvans make up around 80 percent of the population (a rarity in Russia’s "ethnic republics"), and Tuvan cultural practices — folk music, khuresh wrestling, and nomadism — capture the imagination of "friends of Tuva" around the world.
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-08-29): The Wakhan Corridor (Dari: دالان واخان, romanized: Dâlân-e wâxân; Pashto: واخان دهلېز, romanized: Vâxân dahléz) is a narrow strip of territory in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. This corridor stretches eastward, connecting Afghanistan to Xinjiang, China. It also separates the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan in the north from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan regions of Pakistan in the south, the latter of which is also part of the disputed region of Kashmir.[1][2][3][4][5][a] This high mountain valley, which rises to a maximum altitude of 4,923 m (16,152 ft), serves as the source of both the Panj and Pamir rivers, which converge to form the larger Amu Darya River. For countless centuries, a vital trade route has traversed this valley, facilitating the movement of travelers to and from East, South, and Central Asia.[6] [...] The corridor is in the Wakhan District of Afghanistan's Badakhshan province. As of 2020, it had 17,167 residents.[8] The northern part of the Wakhan, populated by the Wakhi and Pamiri people, is also referred to as the Pamir. The closest major airport for the residents to use is Fayzabad Airport in the city of Fayzabad to the west, which can be reached by a road network. [...] - ^ "Wakhan Corridor travel guide". Caravanistan. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-11-06): Sandwiched between the mountains of the Hindu Kush and Karakoram, the Wakhan Corridor linking Afghanistan and China played a vital role in the 19th-century battle for control in Central Asia. Today, devoid of electricity and all extravagance, the Wakhan is a window into history centuries ago. [...] The Wakhan Corridor may look more or less as it has done for centuries, but change is on the way. There is talk of a road to China and a reopening of the Broghil Pass to Pakistan. If you look closely, you’ll already spy occasional solar panels and mobile phones (albeit without network coverage). The children, once educated, will ask for something more than eking out a life at the end of the world. If you want to see the Wakhan as a wilderness, now is the time to go. The world can change in a heartbeat, and once the Wakhan’s potential is exploited, the traditional Wakhi way of life will quickly disappear.
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-06-23): Wakhan, or "the Wakhan" (also spelt Vakhan; Persian and Pashto: واخان, Vâxân and Wāxān respectively; Tajik: Вахон, Vaxon), is a rugged, mountainous part of the Pamir, Hindu Kush and Karakoram regions of Afghanistan. Wakhan District is a district in Badakshan Province. Geography [edit]The Wakhan is located in the extreme north-east of Afghanistan. It contains the headwaters of the Amu Darya (Oxus) River, and was an ancient corridor for travellers from the Tarim Basin to Badakshan. The geographic position of Wakhan between China, India, and Bactria allowed it to play a major role in trade in the ancient world.[1] [...] Wakhan Corridor [edit]The Wakhan is connected to Tashkurgan Tajik County, China, by a long, narrow strip called the Wakhan Corridor, which separates the Gorno-Badakhshan region of Tajikistan from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.[a]
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-11-29): The people of the Wakhan Corridor live in some of the highest mountains in the world that form steep slopes cut by the Panj River. Local inhabitants speak a number of dialects of the Wakhi language, which is separate and distinct from 11 other Eastern Pamiri languages. Linking Central Asia to China’s Xin Xiang Province, the region has a rich cultural history, marked by the religious fingerprints of Zoroastrianism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. [...] During the Great Game era of the 19th century, before it was split across several countries, the Wakhan Corridor functioned as an independent buffer zone between the Russian and British empires, with self-governed statelets that spanned the River Panj. In 1893, as regional rivalries intensified, the great powers divided the territory at the river, separating families that had lived as unified communities for centuries. [...] Throughout the period of the Great Game (and before) China also fought for territory in the Wakhan Corridor, and recently won back a small stretch of land in the far northeastern corner of Tajikistan that had been under dispute since the mid-1800s (between Tsarist Russia and China). This section, rumoured to be rich in mineral wealth, was ceded to the Chinese by the Tajik government in 2011 as payment for debts the Tajik government owed to China for construction of several roads and bridges. The Tajiks living in the villages in these areas were forced to relocate to even more austere locations, lacking in water or arable land for farming or livestock.
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-08-23): A Journey Through the Wakhan Corridor [...] Nestled between the formidable peaks of the Pamir mountain range lies an ancient trade route—the Wakhan corridor. This little-known pass, strategically situated between the Silk Road centers of China, India, and the ancient Iranian civilization of Bactria, was once an important artery of regional trade. A single, narrow road cuts through glacier-carved valleys and hugs the frigid waters of the Wakhan River, which flow westward to join the Pamir River. [...] In this remote corner of the world, where ancient history and contemporary geopolitics intertwine, the Wakhan corridor remains a witness to the passage of time and story of the enduring spirit of its inhabitants.
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-08-14): The Wakhan Corridor is a fiercely contested imperial hangover. [...] The Wakhan Corridor is a panhandle 217 miles long but less than 9 miles wide, ending in Afghanistan’s short border with China that measures just 47 miles across. It was created by Russo-British negotiations in 1895, resulting in a commission that designated the valley as a buffer zone between the two empire’s territories—nominally administered by the emir in Kabul. [...] In Afghanistan, Beijing is still hedging its bets, content to gather intelligence—a spy ring was busted in Kabul last December—and to cultivate a broad circle of friends and a wide range of interests. The Wakhan Corridor, a frontier with form when it comes to geopolitical intrigue, will remain a hotbed of imperial ambitions, regardless of what anyone living there wants.
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-12-08): Afghanistan is the very definition of a geopolitical pivot. Long called the "Graveyard of Empires," the country still lures larger powers keen on exerting influence in Central Asia, and the Wakhan Corridor, a narrow strip of land protruding out of Afghanistan like the handle of a cooking pot, exemplifies this strategic geopolitical position. Three separate geopolitical conflicts intersect in the Wakhan Corridor: the so-called "New Great Game" between Russia and China over Central Asia, the rising geopolitical contest between China and the West over the new Belt and Road initiative, and the ever-inflamed (but now ratcheted) tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. However, China’s recent moves to build a road through the corridor will upset this delicate geopolitical balance in its own favor. The Wakhan Corridor has long been involved in geopolitics. Historically, Wakhjir Pass at the end of the corridor has served as an important conduit on the Silk Road, facilitating trade between China on one end and ancient Rome on the other. More recently, both the Russians and the British viewed Afghanistan as a strategic buffer to prevent the other from expanding too much into their territory (Central Asia and India, respectively). The Wakhan Corridor was born from this strategic logic, drawn by the Pamir Boundary Commission (a joint Russian-British entity) to prevent present-day Tajikistan and Pakistan from having a direct border.
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-09): Looking at Afghanistan’s map, one observes a narrow strip of land protruding northeastward out of its northern part. Called the Wakhan Corridor, it is a colonial construct to keep the borders of the Indian subcontinent, then under the British empire, and the Russian Empire from intersecting. Today, the 350-kilometer long and 16-to-64-km wide Wakhan Corridor separates Pakistan and Tajikistan and ends at a short 92 km border with China’s expansive Xinjiang province. [...] Besides its strategic significance, the Wakhan Corridor is now widely seen in Afghanistan as a possible direct trade conduit with China. Currently, there is no trade link on their small shared border; Afghanistan’s trade with China is instead routed through third countries, like Pakistan. [...] It is unclear whether the Chinese government continued to fund the project or which stretch of the long road was built. However, in September 2023, the Taliban government’s ambassador to China held discussions with Chinese authorities regarding the commencement of traffic through the Wakhan Corridor. The Taliban’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi also raised the opening of a trade corridor through Wakhan with China in his meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the third Trans-Himalaya Forum for International Cooperation in October 2023.
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-08-27): What is the Wakhan Corridor and why is China worried about it? [...] The Wakhan region is known for being inaccessible for most of the year due to its high altitude, extreme weather and lack of roads. It is located in the remote Afghan province of Badakhshan, where three of the world’s major mountain ranges – the Hindu Kush, the Karakoram and the Pamirs – meet to form what is known as the Pamir Knot. The only access point at the border is at the southeastern end of the corridor, known as the Wakhjir Pass, which sits at nearly 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) above sea level. There is no road on the Afghan side of the pass.
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2013-01-02): The valleys are located in a strange, pincer-shaped appendage of land jutting from the northeast corner of Afghanistan. This strip, often referred to as the Wakhan corridor, was a result of the 19th century’s so-called Great Game, when the British and Russian Empires fought for influence in Central Asia. The two powers created it, through a series of treaties between 1873 and 1895, as a buffer zone—a sort of geographical shock absorber—preventing tsarist Russia from touching British India. In previous centuries the area was part of the Silk Road connecting China and points west, the route of armies and explorers and missionaries. Marco Polo passed through in the late 1200s. [...] The horizon, everywhere you look, is halted by towering chiseled peaks. Here, on the roof of the world, several of Asia’s highest ranges meet—the Hindu Kush, the Karakoram, the Kunlun—a spot so tangled with mountains it’s known as the Pamir Knot. The Wakhan corridor is also the birthplace of rivers flowing both east and west, including the Amu Darya, or "mother river," one of the main waterways of Central Asia.
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-02-25): Once an isolated region barely touched by the hands of time, Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor stands on the brink of great change with the building of a new road linking it with China.
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-07-03): On March 30th, 2014, Afghanistan declared the Wakhan Corridor as its second national park. At over 10,000 km2, the park is larger than Yellowstone National Park in the USA. It is high country, ranging from 2500 meters at its west end, to a mountain pass to China at 5000 meters in the east, and peaks of 7000 meters along its southern border. Despite its elevation, the Wakhan National Park is home to iconic wildlife species such as Marco Polo sheep and the snow leopards. It is also home to some 17,000 people. The Wakhan has had a long journey from geopolitical buffer zone to national park, a journey that is not yet complete. It became defined as a specific region during The Great Game of the nineteenth century between the two great empires of the age: Tsarist Russia, and the British Raj in India. The great powers wanted a buffer zone between them, an effort to keep their competition from accidentally spilling over into war. Neither the British, the Russians, nor the Afghan Emir could have known that in the twenty-first century, this buffer zone would come to be valued for its natural capital. [...] The easternmost part of the Wakhan Corridor borders the disputed region of Gilgit-Baltistan (formerly Northern Areas), claimed by both India and Pakistan but administered by Pakistan. [...] Bedunah, D. (2009). Description of Wakhan Corridor vegetation land classes delineated in the supervised land classification. Unpubl Rpt, WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY, Kabul, Afghanistan. https://afghanistan.wcs.org/Publications.aspx. Accessed 19 July 2018.
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-07-28): Afghanistan and China share a 74-kilometre border in the remote Wakhan Corridor, a narrow stretch of land in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province between the Pamir, Hindu Kush, and Karakoram mountain ranges. [...] The Taliban takeover of the corridor could be the first step to gaining international legitimacy from China ahead of fresh negotiations with the Afghan government, says Lowy Institute research fellow and former army officer Dr Rodger Shanahan. [...] Meanwhile, residents of the Wakhan Corridor – most of whom are from the Tajik, Wakhi and Kyrgyz ethnic minorities and belong to the Shiite Ismaili sect of Islam – fear persecution at the hands of the Taliban, who adhere to a strict interpretation of Sunni Islamic doctrine.
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-06-20): Between China, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan, inside the Pamir Knot, lies the Wakhan corridor. This strip of land sandwiched between the four countries was created as a buffer between the territories of British India and Tsarist Russia in the 19th century, which was then formally demarcated between the Kingdom of Afghanistan and the Chinese People’s Republic in November 1963. The Wakhan corridor has historically been an important transit path of the ancient Silk Road route. According to Alexander Farhad, in the fourth and fifth centuries, the passes across the Pamir led Chinese pilgrims to the Buddhist centers in today’s Afghanistan and India and were used by Persian merchants to sell their goods in the Chinese market. Nazif Shahrani, in his The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan: Adaptation to Closed Frontiers and War, maintains that until the collapse of Mughal Empire in India, Wakhan was one of the main routes for traders and merchants between India, China and major cities like Bactria and Bukhara in modern-day Afghanistan and Central Asia. It was due to the rapidly developing use of sea routes by Westerners to reach India and China in the late 15th century that the importance of the ancient Silk Road from Rome to China went into decline. [...] If built, the Wakhan corridor would be the least costly trade route between China, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan compared to the current alternatives. This should compel the four countries to transform this land buffer into a bridge between them.
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-07): Pakistan,[e] officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,[f] is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million,[g] having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area. Bounded by the Arabian Sea on the south, the Gulf of Oman on the southwest, and the Sir Creek on the southeast, it shares land borders with India to the east; Afghanistan to the west; Iran to the southwest; and China to the northeast. It shares a maritime border with Oman in the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan in the northwest by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor. [...] - ^ Harjani 2018. [...] - ^ Yousafzai 2021.
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-08-16): Geography - note landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor) [...] Country name conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (prior to 15 August 2021); current country name disputed conventional short form: Afghanistan local long form: Jamhuri-ye Islami-ye Afghanistan (prior to 15 August 2021; current country name is disputed) [...] Telecommunication systems general assessment: Afghanistan's telecom sector is facing challenges providing adequate coverage to all of the population; prior to the Taliban regaining power, the World Bank and other donors supported the development of a nationwide fiber backbone and there is terrestrial cable connectivity to five neighboring countries; work on the 'Wakhan Corridor Fiber Optic Survey Project' to connect to China has faced obstacles because of Afghanistan's economic issues. (2021)
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-05-29): One such corner is the Wakhan Corridor – a sliver of land that connects Afghanistan to China’s Xinjiang province, bordered by Tajikistan to the north and Pakistan to the south. The Corridor came to our attention thanks to rumours of Chinese troops being stationed across the border in Afghan territory. Suzanne Levi-Sanchez: Throughout the period of the Great Game (and before) China also fought for territory in the Wakhan Corridor, and recently won back a small stretch of land in the far northeastern corner of Tajikistan that had been under dispute since the mid-1800s (between Tsarist Russia and China). This section, rumoured to be rich in mineral wealth, was ceded to the Chinese by the Tajik government in 2011 as payment for debts the Tajik government owed to China for construction of several roads and bridges. The Tajiks living in the villages in these areas were forced to relocate to even more austere locations, lacking in water or arable land for farming or livestock. Another is Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory geographically located within Azerbaijan but governed by ethnic Armenians. Luke Dawes wrote about how Armenian-Azeri disagreements could upset Russia and Turkey’s cooperation in Syria:
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-01): Global Locations research emissary about experts more support programs events blogs podcasts videos [...] Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center [...] Berlin, Germany research emissary about experts donate support programs events blogs podcasts videos
Claim: Wakhan Corridor is a territory of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-03-05): Afghanistan’s geography is significant for all three powers. To the north, it borders landlocked Central Asia, where economic dependence drives the former Soviet states into the Russian sphere of influence. Through the north-eastern Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan shares a border with China’s Muslim-majority Xinjiang province. And to the east, Afghanistan borders Pakistan, the West’s strategic regional ally since the partition of British India. [...] And for Washington and their Western allies, preventing Afghanistan from becoming a haven for Salafist jihadist groups is paramount in their policy towards the Taliban. The 2020 Doha Deal prioritised the Taliban’s commitment to prevent "the use of Afghan soil by any international terrorist groups or individuals against the security of the United States and its allies". Two decades after the horror of 9/11, the threat of Salafist terror groups plotting attacks against the West persists; civil war in Afghanistan would be advantageous for this malintent, especially since ISKP is ideologically aligned with al-Qaeda. While the Taliban are desperately trying to contain ISKP attacks, the international community must refrain from endorsing a civil war with the new generation Northern Alliance or remnants of the former Afghan National Army. Though international appetite for a civil war currently remains low, the possibility of renewed conflict cannot be disregarded. The United States is fatigued from two decades in Afghanistan, whereas Russia and China need regional stability to pursue their regional economic ambitions by connecting South and Central Asia.