The Cook Islands, a group of 15 small islands in the Pacific Ocean, have been closely tied to New Zealand for decades.

Spurred by a desire to control Pacific Ocean territory, some east Asian countries are laying claim to disputed islands far off their coasts, said historian Alexis Dudden at a seminar Tuesday evening.

The recent spate of North Pacific island disputes shows Japan, China, Russia and the US jockeying for regional power, argues the BBC's Jonathan Marcus.

In the recent Quad summit, Minister of External Affairs stated that the South China Sea Dispute "continues to be of great ...

China has deployed both of its aircraft carriers—CNS Liaoning and CNS Shandong —to the east of the first island chain since June 7. Japan's military reported that its patrol aircraft was intercepted ...

Along with Taiwan, the islets — called the Diaoyu islands in. SUAO, Taiwan ... (140 miles) from a rocky group of islets at the center of a bitter territorial dispute between Japan and China.

(PHOTOS: China: Island Dispute Spurs Anti-Japan Protests) The addition of Taiwan, which also long claimed the islands, has contributed another layer of complexity to the thoroughly messy picture.

Five Solomon Islands Disappear Into the Pacific Ocean as a Result of Climate Change. Rising seas are to blame for the disappearance of the islands, scientists warn. By ABC News. May 9, 2016, 3:26 PM.

A U.S. guided-missile destroyer steamed past a disputed island chain in the South China Sea on Saturday, the second such operation meant to challenge “excessive maritime claims” in the region ...

The future of an 18-nation group is in doubt after Palau abandoned it over a leadership dispute. ... Australia — The Pacific Islands’ most important regional body is on ... Pacific. Ocean.