Midday openthread

• China announced that police forces in the southern province of Hainan will now board ships travelling through the disputed waters of the South China Sea:
  

  The South China Sea is Asia's biggest potential military trouble spot with several Asian countries claiming sovereignty over waters believed to be rich in oil and gas.

  The shortest route between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, it has some of the world's busiest shipping lanes. More than half the globe's oil tanker traffic passes through it.

  New rules, which come into effect on Jan. 1, will allow Hainan police to board and seize control of foreign ships which "illegally enter" Chinese waters and order them to change course or stop sailing, the official China Daily reported.

  A carrier strike group led by the USS George Washington cruised through the disputed waters in October. For more info on the dispute, click here.
• Colombia and Nicaragua exchanged sharp words over their dispute for oil-rich waters:
  

  So far, the two countries have engaged in a bureaucratic chess game as the government leaders flex their political muscle, with military ships from both countries being sent to the disputed area.
  While the International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled on November 19 that Colombia does in fact own the regional islands of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina, it gave the expanse of some 120 square kilometers of oil-rich ocean to Nicaragua. Colombia, which has long fought to keep the area, has rejected the decision and officially left the Bogotá Pact, a 1948 treaty which recognizes ICJ rulings to find peaceful solutions to these types of conflicts.  

• Tanzania and Malawi are disputing the border at Lake Nyasa:
  

  The most threatening time was last August when the war of words between the two countries took a turn for the worse after the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Bernard Membe issued what appeared to be the official statement of the Tanzania government.

  It followed the revival of a long time claim by Malawi that the border with this country in the Western side is the shores of Lake Nyasa that includes Mbamba Bay and other areas around the lake. In fact the former Malawian leader, Dr Hastings Banda once claimed Njombe, Songea and Mbeya to be part of Malawi!

• South Korea is angry at Apple Maps for using the Japanese name for a set of islands disputed between the two countries. Seems like everyone is mad at Apple Maps.
• Belize and Guatemala are making progress on their territorial dispute.
• Canada and Denmark settled their artic circle dispute.
• Finally, in Redwood Falls, MN, a brutal battle over six inches of land:
  

  That six inch strip of land was Jones', had been his or his father's for as long as they'd been alive, and he didn't care what some new surveyors claimed.
  Those metal pins had been in the ground of Jones' lawn for longer than anyone in that council chamber had been alive, had priority, and should be respected. Jones claimed that if the city abided by the new survey and legally recognized the six inches of grass belonged to Smith, there would be consequences. There would be a lawsuit, and Jones would demand the city reimburse him for all the property tax he and his ancestors had paid on that six inch strip of grass going back for decades. At that point, the city council members basically threw up their hands, admitted they didn't know what to do and would have to refer the matter to the city attorney for study.

• Fighting over territory. The human condition. Are you engaged in any territorial disputes?