Daman Island. Could be a nuclear war

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

Damansky Island as a natural object exists in several parts of the globe. For example, this is the name of the territory where the park of culture and recreation is located in Yaroslavl on the banks of the Kotorosl River. However, from the point of view of history, another object is better known, now located on the territory of the People's Republic of China.

This Daman Island is small in size - about 1.8 km long and less than a kilometer wide. During spring floods, you can not see it at all, because the Ussuri River completely hides it under its course. Nevertheless, this piece of land became the cause of the conflict in 1969 between such serious powers as the USSR and China.

The beginning of this story goes back to the times when the Russian Empire was much stronger than the Middle Kingdom. Taking advantage of its superiority at that time, Russia established water boundaries along the Chinese coast. It turns out that Damansky Island, which is closer to China (300 meters), has moved to our state, although it is further from the Russian coast (500 meters).

This situation did not bother anyone until the middle of the 20th century, despite the fact that, according to international law, the boundaries on the river should be established along the main fairway. Only during the reign of N. S. Khrushchev, when disagreements began to arise between the CPSU and the Communist Party of China, did the problem of disputed territories surface. Khrushchev did not accept the territorial claims of the Chinese side, but proposed to divide the river so that the islands adjacent to China would pass to him. Agreement could not be reached only on the territories near Khabarovsk, among which was Damansky Island.

It started a confrontation between the border guards of both sides. At first it was forbidden to shoot, so constant fights took place on the ice of the frozen river. But on March 2, 1969, about 300 Chinese infantry appeared on the disputed territory, to which Soviet soldiers advanced with a proposal to liberate Damansky Island. China responded with fire. In the future, the parties used artillery, including the Grad installations. The losses of the parties amounted to hundreds of people.

The level of conflict reached such a level that the USSR was planning a nuclear attack on China. But here the United States intervened in the conflict, which at that time had a military contingent of about 250,000 people in Asia. American servicemen could die in this confrontation, the States did not need a weakened China, moreover, this country had claims against the USSR, which did not want to ban China's nuclear development together with the United States. The latter successfully conducted militarytrials in this area in 1964. Therefore, Kissinger warned that a nuclear attack on a hundred Soviet cities was possible.

In the first ten days of September 1969, negotiations took place between Beijing and Moscow, at which a decision was made on a peaceful revision of the territories in which the Chinese had already entrenched and lived. However, during the life of Mao Zedong, there was no progress in this area. Only in 1991 was it decided to transfer the island to the People's Republic of China. Therefore, the map of Damansky Island is most relevant today for residents of this particular state.