During the 20th century, the Republic of China claimed that numerous neighboring countries and regions used to be parts of China.[1][2] According to Sun Yat-sen, the reasons for their loss were unequal treaties, forceful occupation and annexation, and foreign interference. Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong were supportive of these claims.[3]
With the rise of Xi Jinping and increasing territorial conflicts, it is generally believed that China continues to adhere to irredentist claims.[5][6] A 2023 map by PRC's Ministry of Natural Resources showed a ten-dash line in the South China Sea and depicted territories in dispute with India and Russia as Chinese. Although these claims were not new, a host of countries voiced their objections.[7][8][b]
Bhutan
On June 29, 2017, Bhutan protested to China against the construction of a road in the disputed territory of Doklam.[9] On the same day, the Bhutanese border was put on high alert and border security was tightened as a result of the growing tensions.[10] In 2020, China claimed that the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary was also part of the territory in dispute.[11]
East China Sea
The PRC has frequently deployed ships since the 2010s to contest Japanese claim over the Senkaku Islands.[12][13][14]
China maintains territorial disputes with India with regard to Aksai Chin and the McMahon Line. The Chinese government claims the Aksai Chin as part of Xinjiang and Tibet, while the government of India claims the territory as part of Ladakh. The 1914 Simla Convention, which the Chinese government does not recognize, negotiated the McMahon Line between India and Tibet.[15] Tensions between India and China have erupted several times, with the largest being the Sino-Indian War of 1962 in which China was victorious and gained control over Aksai Chin, and the 1967 conflict in which India won.[16][17] The 2020 border clashes, which caused casualties for both sides, further strained Sino–Indian relations.[18]
China has reinforced its claim by publishing maps depicting South Tibet as Chinese territory.[19] China also pushed forward to reinforce its claim over Sikkim and Ladakh, and consolidating border control in Aksai Chin.[20][21]
South China Sea
The Nine-dash line represents China's irredentist claims in the South China Sea.
Since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the de facto territories of the ROC are limited to the Taiwan Area which includes the island of Taiwan (ceded to the Empire of Japan in 1895 by the Qing dynasty of China; handover to the Republic of China in 1945) and several other islands.[25][26] Meanwhile, the People's Republic of China (PRC), established in 1949 by the CCP, controls mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.[25] Officially, both the ROC and the PRC claim de jure sovereignty over all of China (including Taiwan), and regard the other government as being in rebellion.[25][27][28]
Skepticism from Taiwanese toward the PRC has intensified as a result of growing Chinese nationalist threat to attack the island if an independent Taiwanese state was to be created.[30] Since the election of the independence-leaning Tsai Ing-wen, the PRC has conducted numerous military drills preparing for possible armed conflict with the ROC.[31][32]
^Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, the United States, and Vietnam
References
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^Shakya 1999 p.4
^Goldstein (1989). A History of Modern Tibet, Vol. 1. p. 815. Tibet unquestionably controlled its own internal and external affairs during the period from 1913 to 1951 and repeatedly attempted to secure recognition and validation of its de facto autonomy/independence.
^Shakya 1999 p.6,27. Feigon 1996 p.28
^A. Tom Grunfeld (30 July 1996). The Making of Modern Tibet. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 107–. ISBN 978-0-7656-3455-9.
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^Tsepon Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa (October 2009). One Hundred Thousand Moons: An Advanced Political History of Tibet. BRILL. pp. 953, 955. ISBN 978-90-04-17732-1.
External links
Media related to Chinese irredentism at Wikimedia Commons