Russia returns border islands to China
22 July 2008
Russia officially returned to China parts of contested islands along its eastern border, the South China Morning Post reported. The deal, signed Monday in Beijing by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, ends a decades-old dispute over the demarcation of the 4,300 km-long eastern border between Russia and China. Tensions over the disputed territory, which measures about 327 square kilometers, almost led to armed conflict between Russia and China in 1969. Details of the protocol signed between the two nations were not provided, but the territories said to be returned include Yinling Island and about half of Heixiazi Island.