The reason most of these islands are of such importance is because territorial waters, customs zones, and exclusive economic zones are extended by any sovereign land permanently above water, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that binds almost all states.<p>So these little islands determine which state is legally entitled to write legislation that determines taxation, shipping, airline routes, oil, fish, and any other territorial, customs, and economic rights in the area around these islands.<p>See e.g. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_waters" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_waters</a>
This sort of situation has led to the exact <i>opposite</i> - territory which both two countries claim doesn't belong to them: <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bir_Tawil" rel="nofollow">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bir_Tawil</a><p>This is because both Sudan and Egypt claim a slightly nicer parcel of land by the coast, and presumably taking Bir Tawil results in ceding the claim on the other part. It all came about due to slight ambiguities chopping up the old British Empire colonies in Africa.
A fun example of an island which is not disputed: Märket is a small uninhabited island located between Sweden and Finland. It's divided between the countries and Finland even built a lighthouse on the wrong side of the border!<p>Another example i the island Kataja, which didn't even exist when the border between Sweden and Finland was drawn, but now sits on the border.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A4rket" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A4rket</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kataja" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kataja</a>
On a visit to South Korea, I was astonished to watch a national weather report on televsion. It showed the weather in Seoul, in Busan, in a few other major cities, and on Dokdo! (Dokdo is this tiny island mentioned in the article, disputed by Japan, with two people living on it.)<p>In this case, the status of the island is largely a proxy for remaining Korean bitterness over WWII, towards the Japanese who (at least in the eye of many Koreans) have not yet fully owned up to their war crimes.
Ha, well played BBC! You mean the state broadcaster for the UK managed to avoid mentioning the Falklands in an article about disputed barren islands. I'm truly shocked!
There's also the Savage Islands that are disputed between Portugal and Spain. They are barely habitable, but make a big impact in calculating the EEZ of each country in the northern Atlantic
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Islands" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Islands</a>
Antoher one is "Kardak Island" between Turkey and Greece.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imia/Kardak" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imia/Kardak</a>
Also Perejil island disputed by my country. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perejil_Island" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perejil_Island</a>
Some of these disputes do settle. One between Malaysia and Singapore was settled in 2008.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedra_Branca_dispute" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedra_Branca_dispute</a>
Argentina and Chile almost went to war for three little barren islands in a desolated place, but it's not about the islands but about claims to sea (or also in this case, Antarctic territorial claims) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beagle_conflict" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beagle_conflict</a>
These island provide a valuable public service. If you've seen the Republican debates, you've heard Rubio declare war on Russia and Syria and ISIS, Fiorina reject diplomacy in all cases until we next decisively win a war, Kasich competing with both to be the most belligerent, and Bush wanting to go back to Iraq and Syria and celebrate his brother's big success there. A few years ago, John McCain held a campaign event where he sang a 'bomb Iran' song he made up.<p>If Japan and Russia and China and Korea and Argentina and Canada and Denmark keep these islands out there in uncertain status, they're doing the right thing. When a McCain or Rubio comes to power in those countries, they have a ready-made harmless <i>casus belli</i> to whine about without actually killing anyone. It's like how we have sports teams to consume our violent territorial primate impulses in a constructive healthy competition.<p>Whereas if Rubio comes to power in the USA aching for war with Russia, we're in danger of global nuclear war if the CIA and KGB guys can't keep their leaders in line.<p>I tell you, I didn't think it was possible to finish the debate thinking that Trump was the level headed, calm, and wise one in the group until I heard the other ones.