Trouble in Outer Manchuria
30th July 2024
More than a million square kilometres of modern Russia once belonged to China. Or at least it once belonged to the Qing, the last of the region’s imperial dynasties. The territory was handed over as a result of two treaties in the late nineteenth century: just two among a long list of unequal accords inflicted on the hollowed-out Qing. Chief among the dispossessions was Outer Manchuria. This sprawling tract of land in the Eurasian far east includes Vladivostok—previously China’s “city of eternal light,” now Russia’s largest Pacific port.
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Moscow’s military struggles have come as a shock to Beijing. After years of joint drills involving both the PLA and the Russian Armed Forces, Beijing has finally observed its partner in live action for the first time. It has all been a sobering experience: the failures of planning and logistics; the corruption and missing supplies; the faulty equipment; the demoralised troops; the years of grinding attrition. As the CCP hastily reevaluates its notion of Russian competence, the temptation to retake Outer Manchuria is likely to grow.