Chinese irredentism involves irredentist claims to the territories of former Chinese dynasties made by the Republic of China (ROC) [a] and subsequently the People's Republic of China (PRC).
Chinese irredentism involves irredentist claims to the territories of former Chinese dynasties made by the Republic of China (ROC) [a] and subsequently the People's Republic of China (PRC).
Under various dynasties or empires in the past, China acquired and lost territories that overlap with Burma, India, Korea, Mongolia, Russia, and Vietnam today. Some were tributary states. [1]
During the 20th century, the Republic of China claimed that numerous neighboring countries and regions used to be parts of China, including Outer Mongolia. [1] [2] According to Sun Yat-sen, the reasons for their loss were unequal treaties, forceful occupation and annexation, and foreign interference. Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong were supportive of these claims. [3]
In 1925, the Kuomintang issued a map that showed large areas outside China as belonging to China, including: large portions of Soviet central Asia, a portion of Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam, Indochina, the Sulu Archipelago, Taiwan, the Ryukyus, the Philippines, Korea, and Sakhalin. A similar map was produced in 1954 by the Chinese Communist Party. [4]
With the rise of Xi Jinping and increasing territorial conflicts, it is generally believed that China continues to adhere to irredentist claims. [5] [6] A 2023 map by PRC's Ministry 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. [7] [8] [b]
| Name | Chinese characters | Pinyin | year of the cession | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nepal [1] | 尼泊尔 | Níbó'ěr | 1816 | Lost to the British Empire |
| Outer Manchuria (Left bank of the Amur River and East of the Ussuri River) [2] | 外东北 | Wài dōngběi | 1858 1860 | Lost to the Russian Empire |
| Sakhalin [2] | 库页岛 萨哈林岛 | Kù yè dǎo Sà hā lín dǎo | 1860 | Lost to the Russian Empire and Empire of Japan |
| Ryukyu Islands [2] | 琉球群岛 | Liúqiú qúndǎo | 1879 | Lost to the Empire of Japan |
| Annam [2] | 安南 | Ānnán | 1885 | Lost to French Empire |
| Burma [2] | 缅甸 | Miǎndiàn | 1886 | Lost to the British Empire |
| Sikkim [2] | 哲孟雄 / 锡金 | Zhé mèng xióng / Xíjīn | 1889 | Lost to the British Empire |
| Taiwan and Penghu [1] | 台湾 (Taiwan)/ 澎湖县 (Penghu) | Táiwān (Taiwan)/ Pēnghú xiàn (Penghu) | 1895 | Lost to the Empire of Japan |
| South Tibet [2] (part of modern-day Arunachal Pradesh) | 藏南 (South Tibet)/阿鲁纳恰尔邦 (Arunachal Pradesh) | Zàng nán (South Tibet)/Ā lǔ nà qià ěr bāng (Arunachal Pradesh) | 1914 | Lost to the British Empire |
| Joseon [2] | 朝鲜 | Cháoxiǎn | 1895 | Lost to the Empire of Japan |
| Pamir Mountains/Ladakh area [2] | 帕米尔 | Pàmǐ'ěr | 1895 | Lost to the Russian Empire and the British Empire |
| Sulu Archipelago [1] | 苏禄群岛 | Sū lù qúndǎo | — | Lost to the Spanish Empire and French Empire |
| Java [1] | 爪哇岛 | Zhǎowā dǎo | — | Lost to the Dutch Empire and French Empire |
On June 29, 2017, Bhutan protested to China against the construction of a road in the disputed territory of Doklam. [9] On the same day, the Bhutanese border was put on high alert and border security was tightened as a result of the growing tensions. [10] In 2020, China claimed that the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary was also part of the territory in dispute. [11]
The PRC has frequently deployed ships since the 2010s to contest Japanese claim over the Senkaku Islands. [12] [13] [14]
China maintains territorial disputes with India with regard to Aksai Chin and the McMahon Line. The Chinese government claims the Aksai Chin as part of Xinjiang and Tibet, while the government of India claims the territory as part of Ladakh. The 1914 Simla Convention, which the Chinese government does not recognize, negotiated the McMahon Line between India and Tibet. [15] Tensions between India and China have erupted several times, with the largest being the Sino-Indian War of 1962 in which China was victorious and gained control over Aksai Chin, and the 1967 conflict in which India won. [16] [17] The 2020 border clashes, which caused casualties for both sides, further strained Sino–Indian relations. [18]
China has reinforced its claim by publishing maps depicting South Tibet as Chinese territory. [19] China also pushed forward to reinforce its claim over Sikkim and Ladakh, and consolidating border control in Aksai Chin. [20] [21]
In 2002, the Northeast Project conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) claimed Goguryeo as a local ethnic minority state in Northeast 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. Both North Korea and South Korea expressed opposition of this move towards the Chinese government. [22]
Territorial claims of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) in the South China Sea overlap with the claims of Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia. [23] [24] In 2020, the PRC announced the establishment of Sansha City, which included the entirety of the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands. [25]
The Republic of China (ROC) was established in mainland China in 1912 following the conclusion of the 1911 Revolution which led to the collapse of the Qing dynasty. The Chinese Civil War that broke out in 1927 was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the de facto territories of the ROC are limited to the Taiwan Area which includes the island of Taiwan (ceded to the Empire of Japan in 1895 by the Qing dynasty of China; handover to the Republic of China in 1945) and several other islands. [26] [27] Meanwhile, the People's Republic of China (PRC), established in 1949 by the CCP, controls mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. [26] Officially, both the ROC and the PRC claim de jure sovereignty over all of China (including Taiwan), and regard the other government as being in rebellion. [26] [28] [29]
Until 1971, the ROC was the representative of China at the United Nations (UN) and was a permanent member of the UN Security Council with veto power. [30] In 1971, the PRC replaced the ROC as the representative of China at the UN. [30]
Skepticism from Taiwanese toward the PRC has intensified as a result of growing Chinese nationalist threat to attack the island if an independent Taiwanese state was to be created. [31] Since the election of the independence-leaning Tsai Ing-wen, the PRC has conducted numerous military drills preparing for possible armed conflict with the ROC. [32] [33]
Tibet came under the control of the Qing dynasty of China in 1720 [34] and remained under Qing suzerainty (or protectorate) until 1912. [35] The succeeding Republic of China claimed inheritance of all territories held by the Qing dynasty, including Tibet. [36] After the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, most of the area comprising the present-day Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) became a de facto independent polity [37] [38] except for border regions such as Amdo and Eastern Kham. [39]
After defeating the Kuomintang in the Chinese Civil War, the People's Republic of China (PRC) gained control of Tibet through a series of events that involved negotiations with the Government of Tibet, a military conflict in the Chamdo area of western Kham in October 1950, and the Seventeen Point Agreement, which was ratified by the 14th Dalai Lama in October 1951 [40] but later repudiated. [41] [42] [43]
The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispute. Fighting occurred along India's border with China, in India's North-East Frontier Agency east of Bhutan, and in Aksai Chin west of Nepal.
Chinese unification, also known as Cross-Strait unification or Chinese reunification, is the potential unification of territories currently controlled, or claimed, by the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China ("Taiwan") under one political entity, possibly the formation of a political union between the two republics. Together with full Taiwan independence, unification is one of the main proposals to address questions on the political status of Taiwan, which is a central focus of Cross-Strait relations.
The political status of Taiwan or the Taiwan issue is an ongoing geopolitical dispute about Taiwan, currently controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), that arose in the mid-twentieth century. Originally based in mainland China before and during World War II, the ROC government retreated to Taiwan in 1949 after it was defeated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Chinese Civil War and the subsequent establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Since then, the effective jurisdiction of the ROC has been limited to Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and smaller islands.
Aksai Chin is a region administered by China partly in Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and partly in Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet and constituting the easternmost portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute between India and China since 1959. It is claimed by India as part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory.
The South China Sea Islands consist of over 250 islands, atolls, cays, shoals, reefs, and seamounts in the South China Sea. The islands are mostly low and small and have few inhabitants. The islands and surrounding seas are subject to overlapping territorial claims by the countries bordering the South China Sea.
China and India have historically maintained peaceful relations for thousands of years of recorded history, but the harmony of their relationship has varied in modern times, after the Chinese Communist Party's victory in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, and especially post the Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China. The two nations have sought economic cooperation with each other, while frequent border disputes and economic nationalism in both countries are major points of contention.
Territorial expansion took place during multiple periods of Chinese history, especially under the dynasties of Han, Tang, Yuan, and Qing. Chinese expansionism as a motivation or even coherent phenomenon has been contentiously discussed in regard to the contemporary People's Republic of China and its territorial claims.
Taiwan Province refers to a notional administrative division claimed by the People's Republic of China. The PRC constitution asserts Taiwan as part of its territories although the PRC has never controlled Taiwan since the PRC's establishment in 1949. The territory of the claimed province, including the entire island of Taiwan, is in actuality administered by the Republic of China (ROC) but is not coextensive with the smaller Taiwan Province of the ROC.
The concept of Two Chinas refers to the political divide between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). The PRC was established in 1949 by the Chinese Communist Party, while the ROC was founded in 1912 and retreated to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War.
A long series of events triggered the Sino-Indian War in 1962. According to John W. Garver, Chinese perceptions about the Indian designs for Tibet, and the failure to demarcate a common border between China and India were important in China's decision to fight a war with India.
The Sino–Indian border dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute over the sovereignty of two relatively large, and several smaller, separated pieces of territory between China and India. The territorial disputes between the two countries result from the historical consequences of colonialism in Asia and the lack of clear historical boundary demarcations.
Bhutan-China relations refer to the international relationship between the Kingdom of Bhutan and the People's Republic of China. As of present, Bhutan and China do not share an official diplomatic relationship with one another.
India and Republic of China (ROC) had formal diplomatic relations from 1942 to 1949. After severing diplomatic relations, the bilateral relations have improved since the 1990s, despite both countries not maintaining official diplomatic relations. India only recognises the People's Republic of China (PRC) since 1949. However, India's economic and commercial links as well as people-to-people contacts with Taiwan have expanded in recent years.
The territory of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has frequently been revised since its formation on 1 October 1949.
There are several disputed territories of India. A territorial dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more states or over the possession or control of land by a new state and occupying power after it has conquered the land from a former state no longer currently recognized by the new state.
The Tibet Area was a province-level administrative division of China in the 20th century. It was de jure created after the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912, and nominally includes the Ü-Tsang and Ngari areas, but not the Amdo and Kham areas. The territories were merely claimed by the ROC, but actually controlled by an independent Tibet with a government headed by the Dalai Lama in Lhasa. At this time, the scope of de facto independent Tibet included the "Tibet area" and the Chamdo area west of the Jinsha River, which claimed by China. The ROC retreated to Taiwan and lost control of mainland China to the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949; afterwards, the ROC continued to claim Tibet.
The Bhutan–China border is the international boundary between Bhutan and China, running for 477 km (296 mi) through the Himalayas between the two tripoints with India. The official boundaries remain disputed.
This article is about territorial disputes of the People's Republic of China (PRC). A territorial dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more political entities. Many of China's territorial disputes result from the historical consequences of colonialism in Asia and the lack of clear historical boundary demarcations. Many of these disputes are almost identical to those that the Republic of China (ROC) based in Taipei, also known as Taiwan, has with other countries. Therefore, many of the subsequent resolved disputes made by the PRC after 1949 with other governments may not be recognized by the ROC.
The following is a topical outline of English Wikipedia articles about the military history of the People's Republic of China. It includes the military events, individuals, and topics involving the People's Republic of China from the Chinese Civil War to the present. The events are outlined chronologically with topical subsections.
{{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 to Chinese irredentism at Wikimedia Commons
