evidence: The Curious History of the Minerva Reefs: Tracing the Origin of Tongan and Fijian Claims Over the Minerva Reefs @article{Song2019TheCH, title={The Curious History of the Minerva Reefs: Tracing the Origin of Tongan and Fijian Claims Over the Minerva Reefs}, author={Lili Song}, journal={The Journal of Pacific History}, year={2019}, volume={54}, pages={417 - 430}, url={https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:166321414} [...] ABSTRACT This article explores the historical events relating to the competing claims over the Minerva Reefs by Tonga and Fiji. Tonga’s sovereign claim over the Minerva Reefs was prompted by a private group’s laying claim to a 'Republic of Minerva' in 1972. At that time, Fiji, as well as the South Pacific Forum, recognized Tonga as the only possible owner of the Minerva Reefs, but did not explicitly recognize Tonga's claimed sovereign title. Such a position reflected the legal uncertainty in…