territorial dispute
noun
: a disagreement about who controls a particular territory
The two countries are in a territorial dispute.
Examples of territorial dispute in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The East Asian country was thrust into panic mode in 2010 when China implemented an export ban on rare earths that specifically targeted Tokyo following a heated territorial dispute.
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Sam Meredith,dylan Butts, CNBC, 20 June 2025
This comes against the backdrop of an unresolved territorial dispute with Japan over a group of islets in the Russian Far East.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025
This command oversees military operations in some of the most strategic and contested areas of the region, including the South China Sea, where China is locked in a yearslong territorial dispute with U.S. defense treaty ally the Philippines and several other neighbors.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 17 Mar. 2025
The median line—proposed by Japan as an invisible maritime boundary equidistant between the two countries' exclusive economic zones—is not recognized by China and remains a point of contention in their territorial dispute.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
In 2010, China halted shipments of rare earths to Japan for nearly two months over a territorial dispute.
—Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 20 May 2025
In addition to the core territorial dispute which prompted several historical wars between the two countries, conflict has included cross-border attacks, nuclear rivalry and water disputes—with India suspending the Indus Water Treaty following the tourist attack.
—Amira El-Fekki, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 May 2025
Japan began hedging its dependence on China in 2010, after Beijing imposed an embargo on exports of crucial rare earth metals to Japan to seek concessions in a territorial dispute.
—River Akira Davis, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2025
Another obstacle is the territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands, a group of islets in the East China Sea that is ruled by Japan but claimed by China as the Diaoyu Islands.
—Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
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Sam Meredith,dylan Butts, CNBC, 20 June 2025
This comes against the backdrop of an unresolved territorial dispute with Japan over a group of islets in the Russian Far East.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025
This command oversees military operations in some of the most strategic and contested areas of the region, including the South China Sea, where China is locked in a yearslong territorial dispute with U.S. defense treaty ally the Philippines and several other neighbors.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 17 Mar. 2025
The median line—proposed by Japan as an invisible maritime boundary equidistant between the two countries' exclusive economic zones—is not recognized by China and remains a point of contention in their territorial dispute.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
In 2010, China halted shipments of rare earths to Japan for nearly two months over a territorial dispute.
—Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 20 May 2025
In addition to the core territorial dispute which prompted several historical wars between the two countries, conflict has included cross-border attacks, nuclear rivalry and water disputes—with India suspending the Indus Water Treaty following the tourist attack.
—Amira El-Fekki, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 May 2025
Japan began hedging its dependence on China in 2010, after Beijing imposed an embargo on exports of crucial rare earth metals to Japan to seek concessions in a territorial dispute.
—River Akira Davis, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2025
Another obstacle is the territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands, a group of islets in the East China Sea that is ruled by Japan but claimed by China as the Diaoyu Islands.
—Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Territorial dispute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/territorial%20dispute. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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