Incident at the Ussuri
| date | March 2 - September 11, 1969 |
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| place | Perimeter of the Ussuri River |
| output | Victory People's Republic of China |
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The Ussuri incident was a border conflict between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union , which culminated in a series of armed clashes in 1969 at the height of the Sino-Soviet split . The reason for the clashes was the unclear status of an island in the border river Ussuri . The border conflict almost resulted in a major war between the two countries.
Political reasons for the incident
During the 1960s, the political climate between Beijing and Moscow had deteriorated and tensions arose along the 4,380 km long Sino-Soviet border. The reason for the tension was not the actual border conflict between two states, but a dispute between the two communist parties ( CPSU and CCP ) over the ideological supremacy of their country.
The military conflicts
On March 2, 1969, soldiers of the Soviet border troops and members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army fought on the border river Ussuri , in which several soldiers were killed on both sides. Exact information on the losses is not possible as both sides claim that they have higher losses than the other side. The two countries also blamed the other for the outbreak of the fighting. The fighting was triggered when a Soviet military patrol encountered Chinese soldiers. Then there was the first fighting. On March 15, 1969, the Soviet Air Force attacked Chinese troops. The Soviet military complained that the Chinese military used civilians as human shields . The Soviet Army finally captured the river island Zhenbao Dao (Russian: Damanski ) with an area of 0.74 km². Zhenbao Dao had been annexed by Tsarist Russia , which China never recognized. Negotiations about their status failed as early as 1964. In the border treaty between the PR China and the Russian Federation in 2005 it was stipulated that the island is entirely Chinese territory.
In addition to the conflict over the island in Ussuri, there were other minor incidents along the border.
Impending escalation and relaxation
During the crisis, both countries prepared to be able to intervene with nuclear weapons in the event of a major war. China has had atomic bombs since 1964, so seven years after the Cuban Missile Crisis there was already a risk of nuclear war again .
Finally, the two countries managed to negotiate a ceasefire in secret . On the way home from Ho Chi Minh's funeral in Hanoi, Soviet Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin visited Beijing and negotiations to resolve the dispute began.
The border conflict could not be finally resolved. Although the situation eased, both countries continued to build military defenses along the border.
Settlement of border disputes
It was only after the end of the Soviet Union in 1991 that serious efforts were made to solve the unresolved Ussuri problem. In a 1995 treaty , Russia recognized China's claim to Zhenbao Dao and a few other islands along the border river. With the ratification of the two parliaments and the respective foreign ministers, the treaty entered into force on June 2, 2005.
See also
Web links
- Ussuri Conflict: Two Fronts . In: Der Spiegel . No. 12 , 1969, p. 127-132 ( online ).
- Border conflict: great dogs . In: Der Spiegel . No. 13 , 1969, p. 139-142 ( online ).
- Map of the disputed areas
- Damanski-Zhenbao site (English).
