Russia, China still trying to fix line between them

Press, 23 February 1987, Page 20

Russia, China still trying to fix line between them

From the “Economist,” London

At least two old empires have never died — and to prove it, after 300 years the Russians and the Chinese are still negotiating about where to draw the line between them. Mr Mikhail Gorbachev resumed talks, after almost nine years of silence, by offering to settle the disputed river borders in East Asia on what seem like Chinese terms. The talks reopened in Moscow on February 9.

The numerous little islands in the border rivers, the Amur and Ussuri, are formally the issue; but Mr Gorbachev is hoping that if this question can be settled the two countries may be on the way to becoming true comrades again. The bit of the border in dispute has been an uncomradely problem ever since the seventeenth century, when a bunch of pushy semi-nomads from Manchuria, better knbwn as China’s Ch’ing Dynasty, ran up gainst pushy Tsarist traders. The Manchus kept the Russians at bay until, in 1860, a China weakened by rebellion and the "opium wars” with Britain ceded the lands north of the Amur and east of the Ussuri. They are now part of the Soviet Far East.

China wants an acknowledgement from Russia that the 1860 treaties were “unequal” and should be tom up (though it says the Soviet Union can keep the

territory granted by them). China also wants a settlement of the river boundary. Until now the Russians have insisted that the border runs along the Chinese shore of the Amur and the Ussuri, an interpretation which would allow Russia to claim control of the rivers and their islands. The Chinese say the border should run down the main channel of the rivers. This would give China control of some of the islands, including Bear Island (see map), which has military importance and lies at the confluence of the two rivers, near the Russian city of Khabarovsk. When Russia and China were trading insults in the 1960 s there were frequent clashes along the border, including two big fights on Damansky Island in 1969 that left hundreds of soldiers dead. Two years ealier the Russians had used gunboats to exclude Chinese ships from the main channel near Bear Island, forcing them to use a barely navigable channel to the west of the island.

The blockade lasted until 1977, when a change of course farther up the Amur shifted the main river channel and left the Russians vulnerable to a similar tactic.

In Vladivostok last July Mr Gorbachev conceded that the border on the Amur could pass

along the main channel after all. Since then there have been hints from the Russians that the Ussuri could be similarly divided.

River trade between the two countries has now resumed, and the Russians have even named some of their ships after famous Chinese leaders.

Such flattery will not be enough to get Mr Gorbachev the improved relationship with China he seeks. China will no doubt be happy to pocket his concessions. But Mr Deng Xiaoping is still adamant that there will be no real thaw until Mr Gorbachev stops supporting Vietnam’s occupation of Kampuchea. Copyright — The Economist.