Joe Burgess/The New York Times
Why China Will Reclaim Siberia -- Frank Jocobs, New York Times
“A land without people for a people without land.” At the turn of the 20th century, that slogan promoted Jewish migration to Palestine. It could be recycled today, justifying a Chinese takeover of Siberia. Of course, Russia's Asian hinterland isn't really empty (and neither was Palestine). But Siberia is as resource-rich and people-poor as China is the opposite. The weight of that logic scares the Kremlin.
Moscow recently restored the Imperial Arch in the Far Eastern frontier town of Blagoveshchensk, declaring: “The earth along the Amur was, is and always will be Russian.” But Russia's title to all of the land is only about 150 years old. And the sprawl of highrises in Heihe, the Chinese boomtown on the south bank of the Amur, right across from Blagoveshchensk, casts doubt on the “always will be” part of the old czarist slogan.
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My Comment: The "Yellow Peril" has always been a deeply rooted Russian fear .... this is nothing new. But it is true that for the Chinese .... while they are trying to establish their own maritime borders much to the chagrin and opposition from everyone in Asia .... it is Siberia where the real prize for China lies.
4 comments:
All that vacant land and
all those Red Chinese. It'll
be either Russia or Australia
that gets annexed. The
eastern part of Russia was
Chinese at one point. All
it will take is an old map,
and the Reds will be 9-lining
Siberia.
ofs
This is partly what I meant by saying Putin is looking east. There lies his major mid and long term danger.
China won't. Russia is a major ally with shared political interests. And the enemy of my enemy is my friend regardless if their interests may differ from time to time they'll more or less provide political cover for any conflict. They both know the U.S is encroaching on their sphere's of interest and both know they can't hope to go toe to toe with NATO alone. Such would be suicide. China will continue to encroach on it's neighbors while Russia does the same. The two will continue to develop a military alliance where needed. The need to redevelop the monetary balance and to counter U.S influence and have some manner of international support in conflicts will provide over any skepticism between the two. It'll be an alliance of convenience.
Somehow I doubt that Siberia would be such a prize property for the Chinese.
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