"We salute every time we meet the Russian soldiers on the river or patrolling on ice during winter. We shout hello in Russian, and they greet us in Chinese," says Jia Pengfei, head of a border sentry post.
China and Russia share a 4,300-kilometer border, with most of the 3,800-kilometer eastern section sitting along the boundary of the Heilongjiang Province.
There are no bridges spanning the Heilongjiang River and the border is crossed by boat. In winter, the frozen river can carry vehicles.
Russian's Amur Region has agreed with Heilongjiang Province to build a bridge that links Heihe city with Blagoveshchensk city, but the date for construction is yet to be set.
Jiang Yi, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), says that as relations between the two countries improve, the two militaries are transcending old conflicts to develop a solid friendship.
In 1996 and 1997, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed agreements on disarmament and deepening military trust along borders, agreeing to restrict the scale, geographical limits and the number of troop exercises, to notify each other of large military activities and troop movements during emergencies and to allow temporary entry of armed forces to 100 kilometers across borders.
"These joint endeavors have improved security along China's 7,000-kilometer border with the other four countries," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman has said.
The agreements helped lay the groundwork for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) founded in 2001, which has brought about closer cooperation among the five member states and Uzbekistan on trade, energy and fighting terrorism.
"Peace Mission 2007", an anti-terrorism drill on the SCO agenda, was staged in Chelyabinsk of Russia and Urumqi, capital of China's northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, from August 9 to 17, 2007.
Apart from increasingly frequent and deep military and political exchanges, China and Russia have been making agreements on their borders.
In October 2004, the two sides signed the Supplementary Agreement on the Eastern Section of China-Russia Boundary Line, setting a deadline to complete demarcating the eastern boundary at the end of 2007.
Chinese and Russian border troops have, since the 1990s, operated a regular meeting mechanism to increase trust and resolve problems.
Under the mechanism, troops across the boundary have met for news briefings, joint patrols, holiday celebrations and even basketball matches and parties. Senior officers have also invited each other for family gatherings, says Song Wanjiang, deputy chief of a company stationed in Hunchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.
"The meetings allow us to meet face to face, but we also have a direct telephone connection to the Russian border troops, just like the hotline used by heads of state, for daily contact," Song says.
Inhabitants of border areas are the direct beneficiaries. Along the Sino-Kazakhstan border, Chinese soldiers worked with Kazak troops last summer to tame the flooded Ulken Ulast River, the border river, which could have ravaged areas in Kazakhstan.
Locals recall how Kazakhstan soldiers helped a Chinese herdsman find a cow that disappeared across the border. (More)
Source: Xinhua
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