55 years of Sino-Soviet War, Moscow celebrates, will Beijing commemorate?

Spotlight on China
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6 Video Views·Mar 15, 2024
Recently, Russia commemorated the 55th anniversary of the Zhenbao Island Incident. An Internet user commented, "I just want to see if the Chinese government dares to commemorate the territory occupied by Russia."
Zhenbao Island, also known as Damansky Island in Russia, is located in Ke Xi town, Heilongjiang Province, China, on the Chinese side of the main channel of the Ussuri River, the border river between China and Russia. The entire island has an area of 0.74 km2.
Recently, Russia commemorated the 55th anniversary of the Zhenbao Island incident.
An internet user commented,
I just want to see if the Chinese government dares to commemorate the territory occupied
by Russia.
Zhenbao Island, also known as Damansky Island in Russia, is located in Kexi Town, Heilongjiang
Province, China, on the Chinese side of the main channel of the Ussuri River, the border
river between China and Russia.
The entire island has an area of 0.74 square kilometers.
Writer Zhang Rong recorded the situation at the time in his book, Little Known Stories
of Mao Zedong, stating,
On March 2, 1969, China used specially trained troops to ambush a Soviet patrol and killed
32 Soviet soldiers.
China's casualties ranged from 50 to 100.
The Soviet Union immediately deployed heavy artillery and tanks, initiating a much larger
battle on the night of the 14th.
Soviet artillery fired into Chinese territory 20 kilometers away.
The Soviet side suffered 60 casualties, while 800 Chinese soldiers were killed.
An expert on imagery from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency said that the Chinese
side of the Ussuri River is dotted with holes from Soviet artillery, resembling the surface
of the moon.
It's clear that the Soviet Union took this matter seriously.
A commemorative article on a Russian website stated,
According to Soviet estimates, there were 800 to 1,000 Chinese officers and soldiers
killed, but the Chinese government did not confirm these numbers.
This death toll is close to the figure in Zhang Rong's book.
Zhang also noted,
The fierce counterattack by the Soviet Union surprised former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
He was worried that the Soviet Union would invade, and he spoke of the possibility of
a Soviet attack on senior officials.
Mao immediately ordered a ceasefire.
Therefore, even when the Soviet military indiscriminately bombed Zhenbao Island, the Chinese side did
not retaliate.
The Russian article said,
On March 16, 1969, Chinese Minister of Defense Lin Biao visited the scene of the conflict.
Upon learning the outcome of the battle, he declared,
Do not challenge the patience of the Russians anymore, and order an end to provocative actions
at the border.
Zhang Rong wrote in his book,
A week later, the old hotline between Beijing and the Soviet Union suddenly rang.
Soviet Prime Minister Alexei Nikolaevich Kosygin wanted to talk to Mao or Zhou Enlai.
At that point, China and the Soviet Union had hardly maintained diplomatic relations
for three years.
The clumsy operator could only refuse the connection.
Kosygin's interpreter tried three times, and the operator scolded him on the fourth attempt.
Zhang Rong noted that this made China fear and worry about angering the Kremlin, especially
when the Soviet army began to advance towards Zhenbao Island the next day.
China immediately backed down, and informed the Soviet Union that the South China Sea
was ready for diplomatic negotiations, implying that China did not want to fight.
However, a few months later, on August 13, the Soviet Union chose the Tiryakhty area
in Xinjiang, where it had an advantage, and sent a large number of tanks and armored vehicles
deep into China, surrounding the Chinese border defense forces and annihilating them all.
