Introduction

Despite a number of boundary agreements that were signed in the early 1960s, disputes over many parts of China's boundaries have remained unsettled. In fact, since 1949, China has quarrelled with nearly everyone of its neighbours over disputed territories. The significance of territorial disputes for China's relations with its neighbours has been underlined by the major military operations that it has undertaken in disputed territories: over the Sino-Indian border

in 1962; over the Sino-soviet border in 1969; and over the Paracel Islands in 1974. (4) To date, territorial dispute has remained a potent source of conflict in China's difficult relations with its major neighbours--the soviet Union, India, and vietnam.