Chinese invasion of Manchuria
| Chinese invasion of Manchuria | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Sino-Manchurian conflict and the Second Cold War | |||||||
 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 China |
 Manchuria | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Zhao Meijin |
Liu Zhou | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3,144,000 (start) | 1,228,300 (start) | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Various estimates | Various estimates | ||||||
The Chinese invasion of Manchuria began in April 2023 as an escalation of the Manchurian crisis that began in 2014 with the annexation of Rehe Province by the Republic of China. The invasion began the largest military conflict in the world since the Great War, the largest conflict in Asia since the Anglo-American invasion of Syria in 2004, and caused the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with over sixty million Manchurians becoming refugees in neighboring countries and going to other parts of the world.
In December 2022, both Manchuria and China began amassing troops along their respective borders, with tensions rising over the Rehe province, which was annexed by China in 2014 after pro-Chinese riots by the Han Chinese population. Manchurian President Liu Zhou declared during the 2019 Manchurian legislative election that Rehe is Manchurian territory and that it is part of her party's national security strategy to "liberate Rehe from the Chinese, by force if need be." A series of diplomatic summits between 2019 and 2021 led to some progress towards a resolution but remained stalemated overall, without any solid agreements, and a military build up still occurred on both sides of the border of the two countries through the spring of 2022. Chinese President Zhao Meijin said in a speech in January 2023 that "Manchuria is an artificial creation of Japanese imperialism" and that "China will work towards rectifying the era of humiliation by the gathering of all Chinese lands." After another round of high-level negotiations from October to December 2022 failed to reach a solution to the crisis, President Zhao announced on 11 April 2023, the start of a military operation for the purpose of "reunifying" Manchuria with China and accused the Conference of American States of turning Manchuria into an "anti-China" with its support for the Manzuxiehui nationalist government there. At the start of the conflict, President Liu declared that Manchuria is prepared to defend its entire territory and began a general mobilization among the Manchurian population.
The Republic of China Armed Forces carried out attacks in two main directions, one into southern Manchuria and one into western Manchuria. Another force remained in Rehe to provide cover for the two attacking wings to the southeast and northwest of that province. The initial advance was able to quickly take control of rural areas, and several thousand Manchurian soldiers along the border were taken prisoner. The advance slowed down as major battles occurred in Chaoyang and Huludao in the south, and Tongliao in the west. By the end of May 2023, about half of the southern Manchurian coastline had fallen, including all of Jinzhou Province, though the advance slowed down in southwest Manchurian urban areas between Jinzhou and the Korean border. Large areas of rural northern Manchuria have also been occupied by the Republic of China Armed Forces.
The invasion caused the largest humanitarian crisis in recent history, with 60 million Manchurians leaving the country into neighboring Korea, Ussuria, or China. The League of Nations condemned the invasion and urged both sides to find a negotiated outcome. The Indo-Pacific Treaty Organization and several individual countries have started an effort to provide military and humanitarian assistance to Manchuria.
Background
Manchuria first became independent in 1917, quickly becoming a Japanese vassal state, and China formally recognized its independence in 1938 after its defeat by Japan during the Great War. The Chinese Civil War and the efforts of the Chinese Communist Party to consolidate its power meant that China was not in a position to take action against Manchuria, which was eventually also a Communist state led by the Communist Party of Manchuria. Over the course of several decades of independence Manchuria developed its own national identity. In the Cold War Manchuria and China would stabilize their relations despite the October Crisis of 1976, which nearly led to all-out war. After the Sino–Continental split, Manchuria aligned itself with the United Commonwealth and its bloc of Landonist states, while China led the ICCMO, an alliance of more traditional Marxist countries. The rise of liberal reformers in both countries during the 1990s, followed by the end of communism in China due to the Revolutions of 2000, led to an improvement in their relations in the next decade. Tensions rose again between China and Manchuria during the 2010s, during the second half of Ren Longyun's presidency and the presidency of Liu Zhou.
In early 2014, tensions between the Manchurian government and pro-Chinese protestors in the border province of Rehe led to them taking control of government buildings. In response to this, President Ren Longyun sent the Republic of China Armed Forces into the province to "protect the Han Chinese population," and quickly secured the entire province as the local Manchurian security forces were unable to put up significant resistance. This led to the resignation of Manchurian President Jin Pai Nai, who took responsibility for the failed defense of Rehe, and an early presidential election in April 2014. He was succeeded by Liu Zhou, who began strengthening Manchuria's armed forces and its alliance with the countries of the Indo-Pacific Treaty Organization (IPTO). As part of this, the American Parliament approved in November 2014 a motion to establish the CAS military assistance mission in Manchuria to help the country build up its armed forces. Between 2015 and 2020 there was a decrease in tensions, although Manchuria underwent a massive military reform and rearmament program, in part with the assistance of the CAS and its regional allies, including Japan and Tondo.
Prelude
Starting around 2020, there was another escalation, as the COVID-19 pandemic was called a "bioweapon from China" by Manchurian President Liu Zhou not long after it began. President Ren Longyun stepped down after the 2020 Chinese presidential election, being succeeded as president by Zhao Meijin, and this was followed by an upset victory of a coalition of opposition parties over the Chinese Nationalist Party in the 2021 Chinese legislative election. The changes of government in China, as well as in Manchuria in 2019, led to political pressure in both countries to work towards a reconciliation. The 2019 Moscow Summit led to an agreement between Ren Longyun and Liu Zhou to partially demilitarize their border, while the 2021 Anchorage summit between Chinese and Sierran delegations led to the Kwon ministry promising to not allow Manchuria to join the IPTO in exchange for an internationally-observed referendum being held in Rehe about its status. The proposals from the Anchorage summit received broad support from the Progressive Alliance for Manchuria and the Democratic Progressive Party of China, though it received less approval among the DPP's coalition partner, the Democratic Party of Socialists. This became one of the reasons for the dissolution of the DPP–DPS coalition government in October 2021, and the 2022 Chinese legislative election led to the creation of a new "Pan-Blue Coalition" of Ren Longyun's and Zhao Meijin's party, the Nationalists, and the DPS. The new coalition, although still facing pressure from pro-Western and reformist factions, held off on any decision regarding an international referendum in Rehe. At the same time, President Liu and her ruling party, the Manzuxiehui, continued pushing for IPTO membership and believed the summit was too much of a compromise for Manchuria to accept.
In the late summer and early fall of 2021, Manchuria and China both mobilized troops to their border, in violation of the previous 2019 Moscow agreement. Both sides accused each other of provoking the troop mobilization and being the first one to violate the deal. The Seoul summit between Chinese and Manchurian delegations, in December 2021, led to no breakthroughs and a stalemate. In January 2022, China amassed even more troops, with over 100,000 deployed near the Manchurian border. High-level discussions involving Chinese and Sierran leaders took place over the next several months but no deal was reached. At the same time, Manchurian leaders also refused to back down on their insistence that Rehe must be returned to Manchuria. In the fall of 2022 there was brief pause in tensions as China cooperated with Sierra during the 2022 Damascus offensive in Syria, to evacuate Chinese, Sierran, and other Western nationals from that country ahead of the Syrian opposition's rapid advance. However, by January 2023 the military build up on both sides of the border resumed.
In early February 2023 there were reports that Chinese troop levels had exceeded 350,000, and could be as high as 500,000, and by the middle of the month the Manchurian Army began calling up reservists and cancelled leave for all personnel as a precaution. Sierran Prime Minister Maggie Chan announced in early March 2023 that Sierra's position remains unchanged from the terms agreed at the Anchorage summit and that Manchuria has "the right to defend its borders," in reference to the Manchurian troop build-up, while calling on China to carry out an "internationally-monitored referendum on the status of Rehe." Chinese Premier Wan Kaige said in response that the rejoining of Rehe to China is non-negotiable and that Chan's comment was "a call back to the century of humiliation, when foreign powers felt they could divide China's territory among themselves." The Royal Intelligence Agency (RIA) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) claimed on 29 March 2023 that a Chinese attack on Manchuria would happen "within the next month." The CAS military mission evacuated most of Manchuria and reestablished itself in the north of the country, near the Ussurian border, in anticipation of a Chinese assault in southern Manchuria. On 11 April 2023, President Zhao Meijin declared the start of a military operation in Manchuria, to demilitarize the country and reunify it with China, citing an "imminent attack on Rehe" by Manchuria as being the reason for the operation. Later that day, President Liu Zhou announced a general mobilization and a decree banning Manchurian men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country.
Timeline
April–May 2023
Immediately after President Zhao Meijin's speech announcing the military operation, in the early morning of 11 April 2023 explosions from missile strikes could be heard throughout Manchuria, including in major cities such as Mukden, Jinzhou, Dalian, and Changchun. Mechanized infantry and armored units entered the country, crossing the border in western and southern Manchuria.
In the west, the South Xing'an Province and the West Xing'an Province, there was little resistance except skirmishes with border guards and soldiers stationed along frontier as Manchuria's western border is a rural and remote area. Many small villages were quickly taken over, and the largest city in West Xing'an, Tongliao, was nearly surrounded by 14 April. More intense fighting took place between the Manchurian Army and Air Force around the provincial capital there. In the south, much heavier fighting took place in the coastal Suizhong County, Jinzhou Province, along the G1 and G228 highways towards the provincial capital of Jinzhou. The 1st and 6th Army Groups of the Beijing Military Region were assigned the southern campaign while the 10th and 19th Army Corps of the Mongolia Military Region were assigned to the western campaign. By 17 April, much of Suizhong County was captured, with the Chinese Ministry of National Defense reporting over 5,000 Manchurian soldiers being taken prisoner. The Manchurian Army's Defense Command South reported on 17 April that limited counter-offensives began in the county against Chinese positions from Huludao, heading along the G1 highway, while Chinese sources claimed that fighting was taking place in the city's suburbs.
On 15 April, forces of the 10th Army Group entered northwestern Manchuria (the North Xing'an Province), along the Ussurian border, though they only made it as far as the G331 highway and Hulun Lake, not far from the border. The Manchurian National Border Guard and Defense Command North claimed that they retook several villages from the Chinese force on 17 April, though Chinese sources reported that the Republic of China Army stopped its advance along the G331 highway.
A naval blockade was reported by Manchurian media sources on 14 April, claiming that the Northern Ocean Fleet of the Republic of China Navy closed off the Yellow Sea. The Republic of Korea Navy announced that they monitored a Chinese naval fleet deploying into the Yellow Sea and a spokesman for the Korean Navy told the press that they were in communication with the ROC Navy "to prevent any incidents." On 16 April, the Manchurian Navy's flagship, the cruiser Harbin, was sunk by missiles fired from the Chinese fleet, while the ROCS Beijing, a destroyer of the Northern Ocean Fleet, was sunk by a Manchurian submarine on the 17th. Admiral Lin Ziyang, the commander of China's Northern Ocean Fleet, stated on 19 April 2023 that the Yellow Sea is fully under Chinese control and that most of the Manchurian fleet remains in port, while also saying that "the Manchurian flagship and fifteen smaller craft, including missile boats and submarines, have been sunk." The Manchurian Navy commander, Vice Admiral Chen Kai, claimed that the Navy sank a destroyer and several smaller Chinese auxiliary vessels by firing missiles from the coast and with the usage of submarines.
On 18 April, it was reported during the Battle of Tongliao that the entirety of the city's northern suburbs and plains (Holingol and the Jarud Banner) were under ROC Army control. East of the city, the eastern outskirts of Tongliao, including Kailu County and Naiman Banner, had been reportedly "fully captured" by the Chinese by the morning of the 19th. Fighting is underway between the Manchurian Army and Chinese troops in the city center (the Horqin District), as well as in suburbs to the south, the Horqin Left Middle Banner and the Hure Banner. Chaoyang became the first major city to fall to the Chinese, with ROC Army units reportedly raising the flag of China in the Longcheng District, the city enter, on the 17th, though Manchurian holdouts continued to fight in the eastern and western suburbs of Chaoyang. It was alleged that Chinese 1st Army Group and southern front commander, Lt. General Shen Hanwen, was killed in battle on the 15th, but this was proven to be false when he appeared alive in the media not long after. Former Chinese Premier Wu Kaiping claimed on his social media on 18 April that "Chaoyang has been liberated."
By April 25, Chinese forces advanced along the G16 highway south from Chaoyang and reached the outskirts of Jinzhou. To the east, much of Huludao had fallen to the ROC Army advance, with only the city's port and far western outskirts remaining under Manchurian control. On the 27th, Lieutenant General Shen Hanwen announced that all of Huludao had been liberated and that the operation into Jinzhou would begin. Manchurian Defense Command South confirmed at the end of April that fighting was underway in the northeastern and southeastern rural districts of Jinzhou city, with the remnants of destroyed Manchurian brigades from the east and north also converging in the city. Yi County to the northwest was also captured by the Chinese 6th Army Group, cutting off supplies from the north, but reinforcements continued arriving from the west via the G16 and G102 highways.
The districts of Jinzhou south of the Xiaoliang River were captured by Chinese forces after difficult urban fighting by 10 May, with casualties on both sides estimated in the thousands. A detachment of the 1st Army Group fought along G16 highway south of Jinzhou to capture the rural villages between the coast and the city, while also limiting the Manchurian supply lines to Jinzhou. They made it as far west as Liaodong Bay by the middle of the month. On May 18, units from the 1st Army Group fought their way north from the G16 highway, cutting off Jinzhou from the rest of Manchuria and encircling 9,000 defenders in the western districts of the city. Among them were four battalions of Manchurian Marines from the Manchurian Navy base at Huludao. As the city was encircled, the main Chinese force continued west towards Linghai and Panjin. Linghai was captured on 23 May, as its defenses had been weakened as many of the forces there had been deployed to Jinzhou,
June–July 2023
Reactions
International
Prior to the Chinese invasion of Manchuria, the Kingdom of Sierra had warned the League of Nations and other international organizations that it had "high confidence" that China was planning to invade Manchuria. Following the invasion, the K.S. Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a press release "condemning the illegal, unprecedented invasion of Manchuria to the fullest terms". Prime Minister Maggie Chan delivered an address in Parliament, directed towards President Zhao Meijin, stating "President Meijin, you and your government have turned the great nation of China into a modern-day pariah, intent on disrupting the social harmony of the world's nations by waging a senseless and outrageous war, tantamount to Derzhavist Russia invading Continental Europe". Chan stated that she would consult with fellow allies in NTO and IPTO, and emphasized the strength of "collective defense". Chan demanded that China immediately cease its military invasion of Manchuria, withdraw all of its troops, and "respect the sovereignty of the Manchurian state and people, which includes the entirety of the Rehe Province".
China
Manchuria
On 13 April 2023, the government began evacuating the majority of its offices from Mukden to Harbin further to the north, which was declared the temporary administrative capital while the nominal capital, Mukden, was located close to the front lines in the south. President Liu Zhou told the press that she would remained in the capital along with the military high command to oversee the defense of the country. Most other ministries and their functions that are not directly related to the conflict spent most of April 2023 evacuating to Harbin.
Humanitarian crisis
The League of Nations called the Chinese invasion of Manchuria as causing the world's biggest humanitarian crisis, surpassing the recent Syrian and the Yemeni civil wars. As of TBD 2023, over sixty million Manchurians have left the country, with China reporting 31.6 million Manchurian nationals having entered its territory, followed by Ussuria at 12.8 million and Korea at 10.5 million. An estimated 5.1 million have been relocated to other countries in Asia and North America to relieve the burden on Korea and Ussuria, which lack the resources and capability to assist such a large number of refugees.
Economic effects
Casualties
Peace efforts
See also
- Altverse II
- Sino-Manchurian War
- Chinese invasion of Manchuria
- 2023 controversies
- 2023 in international relations
- 2023 in China
- 2023 in Manchuria
- Wars involving China
- Wars involving Manchuria
- China–Manchuria relations
- China–Kingdom of Sierra relations
- China–IPTO relations
- Manchuria–IPTO relations
- Ongoing conflicts in Asia
- Post–Cold War conflicts