- 1991 Sino-Russian Border Agreement
Chinese
t=中俄邊界協議
s=中俄边界协议
j=zong1 o4 bin1 gaai3 hip3 ji5
p=Zhōng-É Biānjiè Xièyì
rus=Российско-китайское Соглашение о границе
rusr=Rossiysko-kitayskoye Soglasheniye o granitseThe 1991 Sino-Russian Border Agreement was a
treaty between thePeople's Republic of China and the Russian Federation that set up demarcation work to resolve most of the border disputes between the two states. Initially signed byChina and theSoviet Union , the terms of the agreement were resumed by Russia after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The treaty resulted in some minor territorial changes along the border.Background
The border between the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China had long been an issue of contention. The Sino-Soviet border was a legacy of various treaties between the
Qing Dynasty and theRussian Empire , theTreaty of Aigun and theTreaty of Beijing , in which Russia gained over 1 million km² (400,000 mi²) of territory inManchuria at China's expense, and another 500,000 km² in the western regions from several other treaties. These treaties have long been regarded by Chinese as unequal treaties, and the issue partially arose again with the Sino-Soviet split, with tensions eventually leading to division-scale military clashes along the border in1969 .Even as tensions lessened and leaders on both sides adopted more conciliatory attitudes, the border issue remained unresolved. Despite the view of the previous border treaties as unequal ones, Chinese leaders were willing to negotiate on the basis of the modern boundaries. That left about 35,000 km² of territory in dispute, with about 28,000 km² in the
Pamir Mountains ofTajikistan , 6,000 km² elsewhere along the western border, and about 1,000 km² along theArgun ,Amur , andUssuri rivers on the eastern bordercite journal | author=Jyotsna Bakshi | title=Russia-China Boundary Agreement: Relevance for India | journal=Strategic Analysis: A Monthly Journal of the IDSA | year=2001 | volume=21 | issue=10 | url=http://www.ciaonet.org/olj/sa/sa_jan01baj01.html | format=subscription required] . Border negotiations were eventually resumed in1987 atMikhail Gorbachev 's initiation. An agreement was reached on the eastern portion of the border onMay 16 ,1991 , a few months before the final dissolution of the USSR. Russia inherited most of the former Sino-Soviet border, and ratified the agreement in February 1992, while the other post-Soviet republics negotiated separate border agreements.Agreement
The agreement largely finalized the 4,200 km (2,600 mi) border between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China, except for a few disputed areas. The agreement states the intentions of both parties in resolving and demarcating the disputed border peacefully, identifies the various points of contention, and identifies the border as running through the center of the main channel of any river, based on the thalweg principle. The location of the main channel and the possession of the various islands would be decided in the course of the demarcation work. Various other articles stipulate military, usage, and traffic rights along the river borders. Two areas,
Heixiazi andAbagaitu Islet , were excluded from the agreement, and their status would not be resolved until 2004. According to the estimates by Boris Tkachenko, a Russian historian, the treaty resulted in net territorial gain for China, which received about 720 km², including some seven hundred islands. [http://cio.ceu.hu/courses/CIO/modules/Module06Lomanov/Lomanov_06.html]Because islands on the Argun, Amur, and Ussuri rivers often split the rivers into multiple streams, the location of the main stream (and thus the border) was often not immediately apparent. Obviously, each country would receive a greater number of islands if the recognized main channel was closer to the opposite bank. Thus, the demarcation work was often controversial and subject to local protests over disputed territories. The demarcation work continued nearly up until its 1997 deadline.
Disputed territories and their resolution
The border territories that were disputed (arranged clockwise):
Western border
After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the former Sino-Soviet border was now shared by Tajikistan, Kyrgystan, Kazakhstan, and Russia. While the majority of the disputed territories lay in the west, the Russian Federation inherited only about 50 km (26 mi) of the former western Sino-Soviet border. China negotiated separate border agreements with each of the post-Soviet republics on its western borders.
Argun River
Menkeseli was a 17.5 km² (7 mi²) region along the Argun River that according to the agreement should have been transferred to China. However, this was opposed by local Russian civilians, who used this area for fishing, and by military officials, who cited security reasons. The dispute was finally finalized in 1996, in which the region would be transferred to China but local Russian residents would be guaranteed special usage rights to the region.
413 islands and islets along the river were disputed. The final apportionment has 204 islands in Russian territory and 209 islands in Chinese territory.
Specifically excluded from the agreement was the status of 5 km² (2 mi²)
Abagaitu Islet , on the border between China'sInner Mongolia and Russia'sChita Oblast and near the cities ofZabaykalsk andManzhouli . In Chinese it is known by the Mongolian name of Abaigaitui, while the name in Russian is Bolshoy. This island would be transferred to China in subsequent agreements in 2004,Amur River
The islands of the Amur river were subject to some border clashes between Soviet and Japanese forces during the Manchukuo period. After the invasion of Manchukuo during
World War II , the Soviet Union unilaterally occupied many of the islands along the Amur River and prevented Chinese locals from enteringcite journal | author=Iwashita Akihiro | title=A 4,000 Kilometer Journey Along the Sino-Russian Border| journal=Slavic Eurasian Studies | year=2004 | volume=3 | url=http://src-home.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/coe21/publish/no3_ses/webtop.html | pages = 96–100 ] . These islands were the site of several military skirmishes during the 1960s. Most of the disputed islands have been transferred to China. Of the 1,680 islands along the Amur, the agreement now recognizes 902 Chinese islands and 708 Russian islands.The two islands of Bolshoy Ussuriysky (32 km²) and Tarabarov island (4 km²) near
Khabarovsk , along the junction of the Amur and Ussuri rivers was specifically excluded from the agreement. The two islands are referred to collectively in Chinese asHeixiazi , although the smaller Tarabarov is sometimes called Yinlong. The status of these islands was resolved in 2004, when Tarabarov and approximately 50% of Bolshoy Ussuriysky were transferred to China.Ussuri River
Of almost 150 island groups on the Ussuri river, almost forty lay disputed. Many of these islands were the site of numerous skirmishes and clashes before and during the
Sino-Soviet border conflict . Of the 320 islands along this river, the agreement recognizes 167 Russian islands and 153 Chinese islands.Kutsuzov is the largest island along the Ussuri. Under former Chinese possession it was known as Daxitong dao. Control was transferred to the Soviet Union during the
Manchukuo period. Under the terms of the agreement, the island remained in Russia's possession.Damansky, or
Zhenbao Island along the Ussuri River, was the site of the 1969 Damansky Island incident. After the conflict, the Chinese appear to have retained de facto control over the island. The agreement recognized China's "de jure" as well as "de facto" control.Lake Khanka
Around 3 km² (1 mi²) of territory at
Lake Khanka near the village ofTury Rog was transferred to Chinese control.West of Lake Khanka lay a section of territory unilaterally seized from Manchukuo by the Soviet Union in 1933. This territory, about 0.70 to 0.9 km² (170 to 220 acres), has been transferred to Chinese control.
uifen River
A delta forms at the junction of the Suifen and Granitnaya Rivers, which is also the location of the border. In 1903, the
Russian Empire acquired control of the delta. The delta was later given to Manchukuo, which was then restored to China, but the Soviet Union retained control of the islands along the river. These islands have been transferred to China.Granitnaya River
This dispute involves a section of the former land border near the
Granitnaya River , which borders part of Heilongjiang Province andUssuriysky District ofPrimorsky Krai . The originalConvention of Peking (Beijing) states this section of the border lies along the Granitnaya, but the origin of the river de facto lay inside Russian territory. With the 1991 agreement, Russia transferred 9 km² (3.5 mi²) to China so that now the Sino-Russian border runs along the entire length of the river.Tumen River
Khasanksy District lies near the Sino-North Korean border and the Sino-Russian border and included two disputed regions along theTumen River . According to the agreement, 3 km² (1 mi²) of territory would be transferred to China, and Chinese ships would gain the right to navigate the Tumen river. The territory transfer would connect a previouslyenclave d piece of Chinese territory to the rest of China. This portion of the agreement stirred up some controversy among some Russian officials from Primorsky Krai, as they felt that direct Chinese access to theSea of Japan (through the Tumen River) would decrease the economic importance ofVladivostok andNakhodka . Other arguments protested at potential pollution from Chinese economic development, the possibility of Chinese military vessels navigating the river, and the presence of a Russian cemetery commemorating the Lake Khasan Incident in the area. Finally, inJune 1997 , the Russian side proposed a resolution which would divide the disputed territory in half. This was accepted by China in September of the same year, and in November, when the border demarcation work was declared finished, 1.6 km² (0.6 mi²) were transferred to China, and 1.4 km² (0.5 mi²) were retained by Russia. The Lake Khasan cemetery remained on the Russian side, and the Chinese officials underwent informal agreements to not build a port along the Tumen River.ino-Russian-North Korean border
The exact location of the Sino-Russian border along the left bank of the Tumen River was an area of contention (the entirety of the right bank of the river belonging to North Korea). The
Convention of Peking (Beijing) set the location of border at 24 km (15 mi) above the mouth of the river, where it enters the Sea of Japan, but through Chinese negotiation was later moved to about 15 or 16 km (9 mi) above the mouth. In 1964, both sides agreed to a border about 17 km (11 mi) above the mouth, and these terms were kept in the 1991 agreement. However, the Russian side preferred it to be set at 24 km, and the Chinese at 15 km. The final position was set at 18.3 km (11.3 mi) above the mouth of the river.The final position of the triangular border, where the People's Republic of China, Russia, and North Korea meet, was successfully demarcated in 1998 after trilateral negotiations from all three countries, and went into effect 1999.
Relation to Taiwanese mainland claim
The
Republic of China now based inTaiwan does not recognize any Chinese territorial changes based on any border agreements signed by the People's Republic of China with any other countries, including this 1991 one, due to the requirements in theConstitution of the Republic of China and its Additional Articles.ee also
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Sino-Kazakhstan border agreement
*Sino-Kyrgystan border agreement
*Sino-Tajikistan border agreement
*Sino-Soviet border conflict
*Foreign relations of the People's Republic of China
*Foreign relations of the Soviet Union
*Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly CooperationReferences and notes
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* cite book | author = Yutaka Akino | origdate = 1996 | chapterurl = http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/akino/akino-ron-e.html Moscow's New Perspectives on Sino-Russian Relations | chapter = Moscow's New Perspectives on Sino-Russian Relations | title = The Emerging New Regional Order in Central and Eastern Europe | editor = Tadayuki Hayashi (ed.) | publisher = Slavic Research Centre | year = 1997
* cite journal | author=Steven Parham | title=Narrating the Border: The Discourse of Control over China's Northwest Frontier | journal=Arbeitsblatt | month=November | year=2004 | volume=25 | url=http://www.ethno.unibe.ch/arbeitsblaetter/AB25_Par.pdf | format=PDF|id=ISBN 3-906465-25-XExternal links
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* ( [http://www.dajiyuan.com/b5/5/6/13/n953631.htm Chinese version] ) -The Epoch Times criticism of the treaty
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