Oct 21, 2004
Did China trade island for oil with Russia?
By Chua Chin Hon
China Correspondent
in Beijing
DID China concede a disputed island on the north-eastern border with Russia in order to secure an oil pipeline from Siberia?
China's vocal Internet users certainly think so - fuelled in large part by the secrecy surrounding the details of the recently signed border agreement between the two neighbours. They have kicked up such a big fuss that the Chinese authorities have shut down all discussions on the topic in major online forums and bulletin boards here.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has so far skirted the question, lending weight to rumours about a 'secret pact' with Russia on the island in question - the 320 sq km Bolshoi Ussuriiskii, or Heixiazi Island, as it is known here.
It sits on a river along the Russian Far East and China's north-eastern border, and is part of a stretch of rivers and islands that feature in the decades-long territorial disputes between the two countries.
But during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Beijing last week, both countries signed a landmark border pact that reportedly solved the long-running dispute.
Details of the final agreement were not released, and China's overt anxiety in securing an oil pipeline from Siberia to refineries in the north-eastern city of Daqing prompted many Chinese Internet users to question if Beijing had traded land for oil. On its part, Russia did not commit to building such a pipeline.
'We must recapture the land that was forcibly taken away from us!' said a typically hawkish posting on the online forum of a lesser-known website dedicated to nationalistic issues.
In recent days, China's Internet police have been busy shutting down the discussion on this topic in more popular websites such as sina.com and qglt.com.
The fate of Heixiazi Island was raised twice at a press briefing by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, though spokesman Zhang Qiyue did not give a direct answer. She described the border agreement as one of 'great significance', adding that it would act as a 'reliable guarantee for the friendship and good neighbourly cooperation between two countries', according to the official Xinhua news agency.
But tellingly, all direct references to 'Heixiazi' were removed from the official transcript of Tuesday's press conference, as posted on the ministry's website.
A Russian source said both countries have agreed 'in principle' on a 50-50 split of Heixiazi, while Russian media reported that the adjacent Tarabarov island would be returned to the Chinese.
That is the agreement, on paper at least, and technical issues remain, said the source. The island has been populated over the years by Russians who have built churches and farms there.
Though there is resentment among some Russians over this split, most of them have welcomed this 'politically important' deal with Beijing, which marked the end of the territorial disputes, the Russian source said.
The Chinese media has so far kept a tight lid on the issue. A Sino-Russian expert in the north-eastern Heilongjiang province, contacted yesterday, said the issue was 'too sensitive' and declined to comment.
Observers here say it is no surprise the Chinese Foreign Ministry is keeping mum on the issue as it could potentially open up a can of worms.
The border agreement with Russia also raises questions about how China would deal with the harsh reality of having to balance the need to satisfy its growing needs for energy and raw materials, and maintaining a principled stand on territorial disputes.
A Hong Kong news website pointed out: 'Any concession of land is bound to incur after-effects, raising further questions on matters like Taiwan.'
Это историческая реальность 
Я думаю, что если с Тюменской областью так хоть завтра бы отделились, даже постройки нефтепровода ждать бы не стали 
Хотя бы провели для порядка референдум, мол, Кремль тоже хочет узнать мнение народа....Нет, решение было принято за пределами Садового кольца, а дальневосточники будут расхлебывать последствия.
а в Хабаровске дислоцируется достаточно дивизий, чтоб защитить острова. 
не бойтесь там по английски
.
только оно им не пригодится при всеобщей продажности российских политиков 
