Post World War 2, did any country successfully annex territory of another sovereign country by force and retain it?

Question

This article claims:

Wartime land grabs tend to end badly for tyrants, historian warns

The central thesis is as follows:

“If a conquest is recognized internationally, the conqueror has a chance to hold on to new lands and bequeath them to future generations,” said Zubov.

“If, however, the world refuses to acknowledge these annexations, anschlusses, unifications, and reunifications – if the conqueror simply starts drawing new borders of their empire during a war – it all tends to end very poorly and comically if we set aside the all the blood that is spilled in the process.”

The article goes on to cite Napoleon and Hitler as examples supporting the thesis.

However, I'm wondering if there are any counter examples in recent times (post world war 2)? Specifically, counter examples that meet the following criteria:

1. Invading country seizes land of another country by force.
2. Conquest is not internationally recognized.
3. Invaders retains the seized territory, in the long term, despite international condemnation. (Let's say even after the death of the original "conqueror" political leader).

Answer 1

Western Sahara seems to meet your requirements:

Dictator

From Wikipedia:

The Kingdom of Morocco is a monarchy with a Parliament and an independent judiciary. Morocco was an authoritarian regime according to the Democracy Index of 2014. The constitution grants the king honorific powers (among other powers); he is both the secular political leader and the "Commander of the Faithful" as a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. He presides over the Council of Ministers; appoints the Prime Minister from the political party that has won the most seats in the parliamentary elections, and on recommendations from the latter, appoints the members of the government. The constitution of 1996 theoretically allowed the king to terminate the tenure of any minister, and after consultation with the heads of the higher and lower Assemblies, to dissolve the Parliament, suspend the constitution, call for new elections, or rule by decree.

seizes land of another country by force

On 6 November 1975 Morocco initiated the Green March into Western Sahara; 350,000 unarmed Moroccans converged on the city of Tarfaya in southern Morocco and waited for a signal from King Hassan II of Morocco to cross the border in a peaceful march. A few days before, on 31 October, Moroccan troops invaded Western Sahara from the north.

Conquest is not internationally recognized.

On 18 December 2019, the Comoros became the first nation to open a consulate in Laayoune in support of Moroccan claims to Western Sahara. In January 2020, The Gambia and Guinea opened consulates in Dakhla; meanwhile, Gabon opened a consulate general in Laayoune. As part of the Moroccan-Israeli normalisation deal, the United States established a temporary consulate post in Dakhla in January 2021 as a transition to establishing a permanent consulate within the near future.

Invaders hold the seized territory over the long term. (Let's say for two or more generations after the death of the original "conqueror").

Hassan II, King in 1975, only died in 1999, so only one generation. However the way international recognition is going, it seems plausible that this occupation will last another generation.

Answer 2

• 1951 — People's Republic of China annexes Tibet
• 1961 — India invades and annexes Goa from Portugal.
• 1975 — Indonesia invades and annexes East Timor. East Timor would regain its independence 27 years later.
• 1981 — Israel annexes the Golan Heights from Syria, after having occupied the region since 1967. The annexation was later recognized by the United States, but condemned by the UN.

Answer 3

This answer was written before "Post World War 2" was added to the question

I wonder if War of the Pacific would qualify. Chile attacked Bolivia and Peru, eventually got peace/ceasefire treaty and eventually got to keep large parts of the country for good.

Chile was de jure Republic back then, but so is Russian Federation. Wikipedia mentions that transition to more representative parliamentary democracy only happened after this war.

Answer 4

The definition given in the OP doesn't necessarily constitute annexation, which is a legal term, when the territory is incorporated into a state. Thus, e.g., Golan Heights were annexed by Israel - Israeli law applies on these territories, their inhabitants obtained Israeli citizenship, etc.

On the other hand, Northern Cyprus or Guantanamo are held by force, but not incorporated into the states that hold them. In case of Guantanamo this was notably used to detain there terrorist suspects without giving them the same rights that they would have under the US law, if they were on the US territory (even if not US citizens) - subject that generated much controversy during the George W. Bush and later Obama administration (the latter tried first hold trials in the US, but then decided on transferring the inmates to other countries.)