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
An arbitral tribunal in The Hague ruled largely in favor of the Philippines and against China in a 2016 ruling on the territorial dispute that Beijing says is invalid.
—
Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Aug. 2025
Look around the world and there are remarkably few countries without a territorial dispute.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 25 July 2025
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.
—Sam Meredith,dylan Butts, CNBC, 20 June 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
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
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Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Aug. 2025
Look around the world and there are remarkably few countries without a territorial dispute.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 25 July 2025
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.
—Sam Meredith,dylan Butts, CNBC, 20 June 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
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
Cite this Entry
“Territorial dispute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/territorial%20dispute. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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