Tajikistan cedes land to China

13 January 2011

Orthographic projection

In what could be said to conform to a New World order, where international disputes over lands and territorial paternity are negotiated and resolved amicably without any resort to conflict or bearing of arms, China and Tajikistan say that they have settled a century-old border dispute, after the Central Asian nation agreed to cede land to China.

Left;flag .Right ; coat of arms

The Tajik parliament voted on Wednesday to ratify a 1999 deal handing over 386 square miles (1,000 sq km) of land in the remote Pamir mountain range. The Tajik foreign minister said that this represented 5.5% of the land that Beijing had sought. China said the move thoroughly resolved the border dispute. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei gave no details on the treaty. But he said the dispute was solved "according to universally recognized norms of international law through equal consultations".

The Pamir Mountains lie on the Tajik border with China and Afghanistan

Tajik mountains

An opposition leader described the deal as a defeat for Tajik diplomacy and a violation of the constitution. The Pamir mountain range stretches along the Tajik border with China and Afghanistan.

Abdullokhon Mosque, Isfara.

It is not clear where exactly the land to be ceded is or how many people live there.
China is the biggest investor in the Tajik economy, particularly in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

*Except otherwise quoted, the bulk of the materials for this piece is via BBC NEWS