Chinese irredentism involvesirredentist claims to the territories of formerChinese dynasties made by theRepublic of China (ROC)[a] and subsequently thePeople's Republic of China (PRC).
In Chinese political theory, relations between foreign states were governed by thetributary system. Since theEmperor of China held theMandate of Heaven, his rule was universal and extended toall under Heaven. Sometimes neighboring states were actualprotectorates orvassal states over whichChinese dynasties exerted a large amount of influence, while in other cases foreign states merely acknowledged China's nominalsuzerainty in order to gain access toChinese trade, which took place through the tributary system.[1]
During the 20th century, theRepublic of China claimed that numerous neighboring countries and regions used to be parts of China, includingOuter Mongolia.[2][3] According toSun Yat-sen, the reasons for their loss wereunequal treaties, forceful occupation and annexation, and foreign interference.Chiang Kai-shek andMao Zedong were supportive of these claims.[4]
In 1925, theKuomintang issued a map that showed large areas outside China as belonging to China, including: large portions of Soviet central Asia, a portion ofLadakh,Nepal,Sikkim,Bhutan,Assam,Indochina, theSulu Archipelago,Taiwan, theRyukyus, thePhilippines,Korea, andSakhalin. A similar map was produced in 1954 by theChinese Communist Party.[5]
With the rise ofXi Jinping and increasing territorial conflicts, it is generally believed that China continues to adhere to irredentist claims.[6][7] A 2023 map by PRC'sMinistry of Natural Resources showed a ten-dash line in the South China Sea and depicted territories in dispute with India and Russia as Chinese. Although these claims were not new, a host of countries voiced their objections.[8][9][b]
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Pinyin | year of the cession | Note[further explanation needed] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outer Manchuria (Left bank of theAmur River and East of theUssuri River)[3] | 外东北 | Wài dōngběi | 1858 1860 | Lost to theRussian Empire |
| Sakhalin[3] |
|
| 1860 | Lost to the Russian Empire andEmpire of Japan |
| Sikkim[3] |
|
| 1889 | Lost to the British Empire[citation needed] |
| Taiwan andPenghu[2] | 台湾及澎湖 | Táiwān jí Pēnghú | 1895 | Lost to the Empire of Japan |
| South Tibet[3] (part of modern-dayArunachal Pradesh) |
|
| 1914 | Lost to the British Empire[citation needed] |
| Pamir Mountains/Ladakh area[3] | 帕米尔 | Pàmǐ'ěr | 1895 | Lost to the Russian Empire and the British Empire[citation needed] |
On June 29, 2017, Bhutan protested to China against the construction of a road in the disputed territory ofDoklam.[10] On the same day, the Bhutanese border was put on high alert and border security was tightened as a result of the growing tensions.[11] In 2020, China claimed that theSakteng Wildlife Sanctuary was also part of the territory in dispute.[12]
The PRC has frequently deployed ships since the 2010s to contest Japanese claim over theSenkaku Islands.[13][14][15]
China maintains territorial disputes with India with regard toAksai Chin and theMcMahon Line. The Chinese government claims the Aksai Chin as part ofXinjiang andTibet, while the government of India claims the territory as part ofLadakh. The 1914Simla Convention, which the Chinese government does not recognize, negotiated theMcMahon Line between India and Tibet.[16] Tensions between India and China have erupted several times, with the largest being theSino-Indian War of 1962 in which China was victorious and gained control overAksai Chin, and the1967 conflict in which India won.[17][18] The2020 border clashes, which caused casualties for both sides, further strainedSino–Indian relations.[19]
China has reinforced its claim by publishing maps depicting South Tibet as Chinese territory.[20] China also pushed forward to reinforce its claim over Sikkim and Ladakh, and consolidating border control in Aksai Chin.[21][22]
In 2002, theNortheast Project conducted by theChinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) claimedGoguryeo as a localethnic minority state inNortheast China. This sparked a major academic and diplomatic controversy, as Korean experts on Goguryeo history accused the Chinese government of manipulating history for political purposes. BothNorth Korea andSouth Korea expressed opposition of this move towards the Chinese government.[23]
Territorial claims of thePeople's Republic of China (PRC) and theRepublic of China (ROC) in theSouth China Sea overlap with the claims of Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia.[24][25] In 2020, the PRC announced the establishment ofSansha City, which included the entirety of theParacel Islands andSpratly Islands.[26]
TheRepublic of China (ROC) was established inmainland China in 1912 following the conclusion of the1911 Revolution which led to the collapse of theQing dynasty. TheChinese Civil War that broke out in 1927 was fought between theKuomintang-ledNationalist government and theChinese Communist Party (CCP).
Since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, thede facto territories of theROC are limited to theTaiwan Area which includes the island of Taiwan (ceded to theEmpire of Japan in 1895 by the Qing dynasty of China;handover to the Republic of China in 1945) andseveral other islands.[27][28] Meanwhile, thePeople's Republic of China (PRC), established in 1949 by the CCP, controls mainland China,Hong Kong andMacau.[27] Officially, both the ROC and the PRC claimde jure sovereignty over all of China (including Taiwan), and regard the other government as being in rebellion.[27][29][30]
Until 1971, the ROC was therepresentative of China at theUnited Nations (UN) and was a permanent member of theUN Security Council with veto power.[31] In 1971, the PRCreplaced the ROC as the representative of China at the UN.[31]
Skepticism from Taiwanese toward the PRC has intensified as a result of growing Chinese nationalist threat to attack the island if anindependent Taiwanese state was to be created.[32] Since the election of the independence-leaningTsai Ing-wen, the PRC has conducted numerous military drills preparing for possible armed conflict with the ROC.[33][34]
Tibet came under the control of theQing dynasty of China in 1720[35] and remained under Qingsuzerainty (orprotectorate) until 1912.[36] The succeedingRepublic of China claimed inheritance of all territories held by the Qing dynasty, including Tibet.[37] After theXinhai Revolution in 1911, most of the area comprising the present-dayTibet Autonomous Region (TAR) became ade facto independent polity[38][39] except for border regions such asAmdo and EasternKham.[40]
After defeating theKuomintang in theChinese Civil War, thePeople's Republic of China (PRC) gained control ofTibet through a series of events that involved negotiations with theGovernment of Tibet,a military conflict in theChamdo area of westernKham in October 1950, and theSeventeen Point Agreement, which was ratified by the14th Dalai Lama in October 1951[41] but later repudiated.[42][43][44]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Tibet unquestionably controlled its own internal and external affairs during the period from 1913 to 1951 and repeatedly attempted to secure recognition and validation of its de facto autonomy/independence.
It was evident that the Chinese were not prepared to accept any compromises and that the Tibetans were compelled, under the threat of immediate armed invasion, to sign the Chinese proposal.
Media related toChinese irredentism at Wikimedia Commons
