Chapter 55: Southwest Border Negotiation (Seeking Fresh Flowers and Recommendations)

  The two-month-long Sino-Vietnamese War finally came to an end, and this war once again showed the world the strength of Chinese soldiers. After a half-month mopping-up operation, China's main force began to withdraw from Vietnam gradually. Then China supported a new puppet government in Vietnam and reorganized the Vietnamese police force to maintain order within Vietnam.

  Vietnam's new government has just been established and immediately signed a peace agreement with China and Cambodia, which stipulates that Vietnam will unconditionally return the territories of Cambodia and China that it previously occupied. At the same time, compensation will be made to overseas Chinese who were persecuted in the past; The agreement also stipulated that Vietnam would pay a total of US$5 billion in compensation to Cambodia and China, with China receiving US$3 billion and Cambodia receiving US$2 billion in compensation.

  Although this money may not be available in the short term, it can serve as an important means of restricting Vietnam's development. The Cambodian side has expressed great welcome for this, and King Sihanouk is currently worried about the lack of funds to build the country, and now these reparations have temporarily alleviated his urgent need.

  After the end of the Vietnam War, Laos was the most shocked. Originally, Laos was a country protected by Vietnam. But now its own protectorate has been taken over by others, leaving Laos at a loss for what to do. After an emergency meeting, Laos decided to lean towards China and abandon Vietnam. Subsequently, Laos began to expel Vietnamese people and their influence from the country, while its leaders also sent a request to visit Beijing.

  After the end of the Vietnam War, China began to solve the southwestern border problem and specially invited some countries along the southwestern border, including Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal and other countries, to open border negotiations.

  These countries, after receiving the invitation from China, all rushed to express their participation in the border issue negotiations. The three countries had previously taken advantage of or had disputed areas with China. For example, China and Bhutan have disputed areas as follows: 1. The Rulung Dispute Area (also known as Junglin), located in the southeastern part of Yatung County. Total area of 340 square kilometers, 40 pastures, rich forest resources. In 1954, the Royal Bhutanese Army established a military base in Charithang, and in 1960, it also set up a seasonal outpost in Hatho.

  Donglang Disputed Area, located in the southern end of Yadong County, covers an area of about 100 square kilometers. The northern part has many small lakes and 30 large and small pastures. The southeastern part is rich in forest resources. This land has always been the summer pasture for the lower Yadong herdsmen.

  Chamapur dispute area, located east of Yadong County in Shigatse Prefecture, mainly includes the upper reaches of Langma Pu and Chamapur, covering an area of about 60 square kilometers, with more than 30 pastures. It has been a summer pasture for herders from lower Yadong since ancient times. Before 1959, Bhutanese herders had to pay grass tax to the headman of Yadong when they crossed the border for grazing. In the early 1950s, Bhutan set up a permanent military post in Songxiong Lung, and in 1960, it also established a seasonal sentry post at Er Lang.

  4. The Kiwu dispute area, located north of the Chamapur dispute area, mainly includes most areas of the Kiwu River and Bama Tung River basins, with an area of approximately 90 square kilometers, has more than 20 large and small pastures. In 1889, the local government of Tibet leased Kiwu to Bhutanese officials and our side's herdsmen for joint use. In 1962, Bhutan set up a seasonal sentry post in Shabu.

  5. The Beyul controversy area, located in the south of Lhoka County, mainly includes the Basang and Jigme rivers, with a total area of approximately 600 square kilometers, has 37 pastures, and the famous Ladrongkhang and Tsechukhang monasteries are within this disputed area. Before the democratic reform in Tibet, the Tibetan local government divided the region into Mondarong Temple according to the edict of Jiaqing Emperor. Now the masses in Beyul area all come from Lhoka County. After the peaceful liberation of Tibet, Bhutan took advantage of the situation and established the Demalong and Tangwo outposts, which were not removed until 1978.

  6. The Merag-Sarthang controversy area is located south of Damxung, east of Zaxigang, west of Darongzong, with an area of 3300 square kilometers. According to historical records, Merag-Sarthang was under the jurisdiction of both Damxung Temple and Darongzong, while Sarteng Monastery belonged to Damxung Temple, and its Khenpo was appointed by Damxung Temple. After the 17th century, Bhutanese people migrated eastward in large numbers, settling in Damxung and other areas, leading to disputes over pastures and civil affairs. To this end, the Tibetan local government and Bhutan signed two treaties in 1715, stating that Merag-Sarthang was under Tibetan sovereignty, while pastures could be rented to Bhutanese immigrants for use, with grass taxes paid according to regulations.

  At the beginning of this century, the British Indian government illegally created the McMahon Line and expanded its sphere of influence to the north of Tawang. In 1949, India signed the Treaty of Perpetual Peace and Friendship with Bhutan, ceding the Monpa Tshogkhag area to Bhutan. Since then, the Monpa Tshogkhag area has been under the complete control of the Bhutanese government. As a result, there is a 4,500-square-kilometer disputed area between China and Nepal.

  The territorial disputes with Myanmar are mainly about the sovereignty of the 70,000 square kilometer area of Namkam and Gangshanpo. Gangshanpo refers to a long and narrow strip of land between the Enmei River and the Mali River west of the Gaoligong Mountains in Yunnan Province, starting from Zayü County in northern Tibet and ending at the Himalayas in Myanmar, but usually Gangshanpo refers to most areas north of Myitkyina in northern Myanmar.

  Now that China is increasingly powerful, especially with victories in two border wars, the Burmese government is well aware that this is Burma's last chance; if these border negotiations break down, it may suffer a military strike from China like Vietnam and Japan.

  On May 1, 1979, China, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan held border negotiations in Chengdu, a city in southwestern China. Lin Feng represented China for the border talks with representatives from Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan.

  At the same time, China's second nuclear-powered aircraft carrier "Laozi" was successfully launched and tested, making China the first country in the world to be equipped with two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. In order to achieve the goal of subduing the enemy without fighting, the main force of the Chengdu Military Region will conduct a military exercise codenamed "Peace 1980" on the Sino-Burmese border, which has sent chills down the spines of Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan.

  Lin Feng, dressed in military uniform, said to the representatives of the three countries: "We Chinese people love peace, but if someone thinks China is easy to bully, they are greatly mistaken. In the past, China gave up some of our territory out of consideration for unity and friendship with other nations. However, some countries did not take China's good intentions to heart. Now, I solemnly tell you that we will no longer recognize any unequal treaties imposed on the Chinese people in history."

  Lin Feng paused for a moment and continued: "The Sino-Burmese border is over 2,000 kilometers long, with three undemarcated sections that have problems. The first section is in the Kokang region. In 1934, Britain sent troops to attack the Banhong and Banlao areas, which were resisted by the local Kokang people.

  In 1941, the UK took advantage of China's most difficult period in the Anti-Japanese War to pressure the Chinese government by closing the Burma Road. On June 18, 1941, the British and Nationalist governments demarcated a boundary favorable to the British side in the Wa State region, ceding an area of land from Banhong and Banglao Township into British territory.

  This is what is called the "1941 Line". After your independence in Burma, you inherited this agreement and allocated the land of Banhong and Banlao areas into Shan State of Burma. The "1941 Line" was an extremely immoral means adopted by British imperialism to take advantage of China's difficulties and sign an unfair treaty.

  "In 1960, China abandoned this region under external pressure. Now I solemnly tell the Burmese government that our country has made preparations to recover its inherent territory. If by May 7th we still have not reached a consensus, our country will consider taking military action to resolve our differences."

  The Burmese negotiators were stunned, they did not expect the Chinese government to be so tough. This was not a negotiation, but an ultimatum. Lin Feng didn't care that he had already stunned the Burmese, and continued to say to Nepal and Bhutan: "Our differences can still be resolved through peaceful negotiations, on the condition that we follow our plan. If you have any doubts, I'm sorry to say that you have no choice but to accept our solution." After finishing speaking, Lin Feng left, leaving the specific work to other staff members after setting the tone for the negotiation.

  The first meeting of the Sino-Burmese border negotiations broke down in just one day, and the Burmese representative stormed out of the negotiating venue, exposing China's hegemonism and bullying of small countries to reporters outside. The Nepalese and Bhutanese representatives were more clever and wisely kept silent in the face of many reporters' questions.

  What's even more bizarre is that the Chinese side has remained silent on this matter, just as Western media are using this incident to loudly proclaim the "China threat theory", the 13th Group Army of Chengdu Military Region quickly gathered at the China-Myanmar border, while the South Sea Fleet dispatched the second aircraft carrier formation to the waters off Myanmar for military exercises.

  The Myanmar government, faced with China's military pressure, panicked and immediately began to actively communicate with China in the hope of resolving the dispute between the two countries through peaceful negotiations; on the other hand, it sought help from Western countries in the hope that these countries would put pressure on China. Western countries, as well as India in South Asia, out of strategic need to contain China, have been constantly asking China to stop creating tension between China and Myanmar and to resume peace talks.

  However, what was shocking to the Myanmar side was that China didn't take these countries' accusations and remarks seriously at all. The reason why China dared to defy the world's condemnation is mainly because Lin Feng's arrival greatly reduced China's economic and technological dependence on Western countries. Now, Western countries do not have as many means to contain China as they did in history, but rather, they need China in many technical aspects, making China more hardline than ever before.

  On May 8, 1979, China suddenly dispatched the 13th Group Army into Myanmar on the pretext of wantonly persecuting Chinese and overseas Chinese in Myanmar. At the same time, Chinese airborne troops descended upon Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, under air force cover, capturing the top leaders of Myanmar in one fell swoop. Soon after, China supported a pro-China government in Myanmar, and quickly reached an agreement with the new government on Sino-Myanmar border issues. The thunderous tactics of the Chinese government immediately shocked many surrounding countries.

  After China and Myanmar resolved the border issue, the governments of Nepal and Bhutan soon agreed to China's suggestions on border issues. Through this negotiation, China recovered about 10,000 square kilometers of land and incorporated Myanmar into its sphere of influence, thereby resolving the security problem in the southwest with one move. This accumulated practical experience for China to solve the western and northern border problems in the future, and also allowed China to withdraw from the south and focus on dealing with threats from the north.