This is the transcript from the Moscow-based agency ITAR-TASS World Service,
27 April 1999 (copyright Tass)
By Andrei Kirillov, Beijing, April 27.
A Russian-Chinese commission has completed work to map the border, Russian
ambassador at large in Beijing, Genrikh Kireyev said on Tuesday.
The result of the seven-year effort was that "for the first time ever, the
national ownership of islands in border rivers has been defined strictly,"
Kireyev, who headed the Russian side of the commission, told reporters in
Beijing. He spoke at the Russian embassy.
The ownership rights to 2,444 isles were defined. Of them, 1,163 became
Russian property, and 1,281 Chinese property. The space was divided almost
equally. All these islands were not inhabited.
Also, the commission measured the exact length of the Russian-Chinese
border. The eastern faction, from China to Mongolia, is 4.195.22 [sic]
kilometres long, and the western faction, from Mongolia to Kazakhstan, is
54.57 [sic] kilometres long.
This was the last session of the demarcation commission, Kireyev said.
The prepared protocol and maps are to be signed by representatives of two
governments. Kireyev did not rule out that these will be foreign ministers
and that the ceremony will take place in June in Beijing.
As the result of the work, "reasons of any conflicts regarding the rights to
islands have been eliminated"."Big opportunities of the development of toes
between border regions have been opened", Kireyev siad.
There are only two disputed sites now, the Bolshoi Ussuriyski and Tarabarov
islands near Khabarovsk, and the Bolshoi island at the Argun river. Talks on
them will be continued.
Hope this is useful.
Rachael Bradley
Publications and Research Officer, IBRU
-----Original Message-----
From: Brendan Whyte <[log in to unmask]>
To: International boundaries <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 01 May 1999 11:26 AM
Subject: Russia-China accord
>The Melbourne Age reported in a small paragraph earlier this week that
>Russia and China had finalised their border disputes over a thousand-odd
>islands in the Amur. Has anyone seen any further information on this?
>
>Brendan Whyte
>Uni Melbourne
>Australia
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