China and Russia sign border agreement

Foreign ministers of China and Russia signed a treaty in Beijing on Monday ending a 40-year-long territorial dispute to finally determine their borders. The treaty addressed the eastern part of the two countries' 4,300 km-long border, with Russia returning all of Yinlong Island (Tarabarov) and half of Heixiazi Island (Bolshoi Ussuriyasky) to China. The islands are at the convergence of the Heilongjiang and Wusulijiang rivers that form the natural border between China and Russia. The two countries fought border wars over this part of the territory nearly 40 years ago, but have readjusted their relationship since the end of the Cold War, in what BBC describes as warmer ties between "Russia - a big energy exporter - and China, a big energy consumer." The Moscow Times reports,

political analysts said the move was positive for a Russia looking to secure its eastern borders in the face of its increasingly powerful Communist neighbor.

Photo by SaravK.