Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is the temporary control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling power's own sovereign territory. The controlled territory is then known as the occupied territory, with the ruling power being the occupant. Occupation is distinguished from annexation and colonialism on the basis that it is a power structure that the ruling power intends to keep in place only temporarily. In many cases, the occupant may establish a military government to facilitate the administration of the occupied territory, though this is not a necessary precondition for occupation to take place.
American tanks at the Victory Arch in the city of Baghdad during the occupation of Iraq, 2003
Indian troops of the 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles in the city of Kure during the Allied occupation of Japan, 1946
German troops at the Champs-Élysées in the city of Paris during the Prussian occupation of France, 1871
Lebanese protesters of the Cedar Revolution during the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, 2005
Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to be an illegal act. Annexation is a unilateral act where territory is seized and held by one state, as distinct from the complete conquest of another country, and differs from cession, in which territory is given or sold through treaty.
Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel, passed by the Knesset on 30 July 1980
Tourists in Crimea with the Russian flag flying after annexation by Russia (14 June 2015)
Civilians and coalition military forces wave Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian flags as they celebrate the reversal of the annexation of Kuwait by Iraq (28 February 1991)
Communist Party of Vietnam billboard marking the 30th anniversary of the reunification of the country in 1975