Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXX, China

264. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Thailand¹

Washington, May 19, 1967, 7:52 p.m.

198345. Ref: A. Bangkok 15006.² Following is Department’s appraisal of situation in Soviet-Chinese border areas requested in reftel:

1. In general, we have no information to indicate that any serious shooting incidents have occurred in recent months between Soviet and Chinese Communist forces in border areas. However, there have been several probably true reports of local small-scale “incidents,” including along Amur River, and both sides have probably stepped up their security precautions all along the border. In February and March, Red Guard newspapers in Peking mentioned border incidents, and February 22 speech by the Soviet Deputy Defense Minister confirmed that shooting incident had taken place at Blagoveshchensk earlier that month. We expect border tensions to continue but doubt that any large-scale outbreaks will occur.

2. The Soviets clearly have increased their propaganda directed at the ethnic minorities in Chinese border areas such as Sinkiang and Inner Mongolia. Small numbers of Kazakhs and Uighurs apparently have fled from Sinkiang across the border, and Soviets have used some of them to broadcast horrendous details about Red Guards’ treatment ethnic minority groups under Cultural Revolution. Red Guard newspaper article in March claimed Soviets also sending subversive agents to penetrate into Communist China, but whether or not significant volume such activities actually occurring has not been confirmed.

3. In two Chinese border areas, Inner Mongolia and Sinkiang, period of uneasy relative calm apparently prevails now. Serious violence was instigated in those regions by Red Guards last January and earlier February, but then modus vivendi between Peking and local authorities was reached. Last month, Peking apparently upset this arrangement in Inner Mongolia, and there have been reports of removal Ulanfu (Party boss of Mongol ethnic derivation who had served there for fifteen years) and of reorganization military leadership there. In Sinkiang, long-time Party-military leadership headed by Wang En-mao still holds on although there is danger of resurgent Red Guard conflict and increased opposition from ethnic minority groups.

4. In “Mongolian People’s Republic” (MPR) there some evidence that Soviet military presence may have been increased recently. Soviet construction troops have been stationed in MPR for many years. Possibly because of Soviet desires, MPR has been leveling much blunt propaganda at Communist China for several months, and relations between two countries are at low point.

Rusk

1. Source: Department of States, Central Files, POL 32–1 CHICOM-USSR. Secret; Priority. Drafted by Robert P. Stephens of INR/REA; cleared by Weaver Gim of EA/THAI, INR/REA Deputy Director John H. Holdridge, John P. Sontag of INR/RSB, J. Stapleton Roy, and Donald M. Anderson of EA/ACA; and approved by John Sylvester, Jr., of EA/THAI. Repeated to Hong Kong.
2. Dated May 18. (Ibid.)