Chinese and Russian Border Disputes - Are Dotted Lines a Red Line?

The Kennan Institute presents a program that examines the historical Sino-Soviet and Sino-Russian border disputes and their resolution.

China and Russia are both continental powers which border fourteen nations—a tie for highest neighbor count on Earth. Throughout their respective histories, each has expanded and contracted, spawning countless border disputes. Dr. Alexseev and Dr. Zhao will examine historical Sino-Soviet and Sino-Russian border disputes and their resolution, drawing lessons about how Russia and China view territorial issues and what that history means for current disagreements, such as those over the Kuril Islands/Northern Territories and Senkaku/Diaoyu islands.

This discussion is part of the China and Russia: On Their Own Terms series, a joint project of the Wilson Center’s Kennan and Kissinger Institutes.

Speakers

• Mikhail Alexseev

  Professor of Political Science, San Diego State University

• Quansheng Zhao

  Professor of International Relations and Chair of the Asian Studies Program Research Council, American University