Territorial disputes are often related to the possession of
natural resources such as
rivers, fertile farmland,
mineral or
petroleum resources, although the disputes can also be driven by
culture,
religion, and
ethnic nationalism. Territorial disputes often result from vague and unclear language in a treaty that set up the original boundary. Territorial disputes are a major cause of
terrorism and
war, as states often try to assert their
sovereignty over a territory through invasion, and non-state entities try to influence the actions of politicians through terrorism. International law does not support the
use of force by one state to annex the territory of another state. The UN Charter states, "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations." In some cases, in which the boundary is not demarcated, such as the
Taiwan Strait, and
Kashmir, the parties involved define a
Line of Control, which serves as the
de facto international border. • The term
border dispute (or
border conflict) applies to cases in which a limited territory is disputed by two or more states, each contending state would publish its own maps to include the same region which would invariably lie along or adjacent to the recognised borders of the competing states, such as the
Abyei region which is contested between
South Sudan and the
Sudan. With border conflicts, the existence of the rival state is not being challenged, such as the relationship between the
People's Republic of China and the
Republic of China or the relationship between
North Korea and
South Korea, but each state recognises the shape of the rival state only as not containing the claimed territory, despite who actually governs the land and how it is recognised in the international community. • An
occupied territory, in general, is a region distinct from the recognized territory of the sovereign states but which the occupying state controls, usually with military forces. Sometimes, a long-term occupation is maintained as a means to act upon a territorial claim, but an occupation may also be strategic (such as creating a
buffer zone or preventing a rival power from obtaining control) or a means of coercion (such as a punishment, to impose some internal measures, or for use as a bargaining chip). • The term
irredentism applies to border disputes but also to wider territorial claims: • from Russian administrationIf a nation emerges when declaring independence from a larger state, its ultimate recognition may not always grant the new state control over the territory it proposed as part of the declaration. Those lands remain
unredeemed territory in the eyes of nationalist movements from the state, but do not otherwise cause a problem between the governments on each side of the border. • In cases where the territory was achieved through historical conquests, such as an empire, traditionalists may view former colonies as unredeemed territory. ==Basis in international law==