THE USSR-CHINESE BORDER WAR IN 1969 FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Abstract

The purpose of this study is, by examining the causes, development, effects, and results of the China-USSR Border War in 1969, which is rarely discussed in the scientific literature and little known in Turkey, and by uncovering the hidden side of the Damanski conflicts, to inform and enlighten the inquisitive Turkish readers on this issue. This border war, which took place in the Ussuri River Valley between 2-22 March in 1969, broke out because the Damanski River Island, which had an area of only 0.74 km2, could not be shared between China and the USSR. In this study, on the one hand, the characteristics of the China-USSR State borders and the main problems in this long border belt were discussed, on the other hand, the political and ideological debates between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) were examined, and the main factors that triggered the war were explicated. It was found that the political and economic power struggle between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the ideological differences between the CPC and the CPSU, the personal antagonism between Nikita Khrushchev and Mao Zedong, as well as the world communist leadership contention between the two neighboring states were the main causes of the war of Damanski Island. The USSR-China political relations and the 1969 Damanski conflicts lie at the center of this study, which was prepared using the Russian, Bulgarian, Turkish and English sources. The article has discussed the reasons for the outbreak of this war and its international repercussions, and the detailed analysis and global consequences of the war. This study which has been supported by the views of the Russian and Chinese experts has the characteristic of being the very first comprehensive study carried out in Turkey on the Chinese-Soviet border war.