Recent Outer Mongolian International Relations: A Time Capsule

By Jon D. Holstine

Revised version of a master's thesis describing Mongolian foreign affairs through 1962, based on open sources. Originally copyrighted 1965 through University Microfilms.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781312670143

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Recent Outer Mongolian International Relations: A Time Capsule

RECENT OUTER MONGOLIAN

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS:

A Time Capsule

By

Jon D. Holstine

With a Foreword by

Dr. Alicia Campi

Copyright © 2015, Jon D. Holstine

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-312-67014-3

Dedication

Dedicated to my wife Dorothy and my daughters Elizabeth and Deborah

FOREWORD

The United States and Mongolia established formal diplomatic relations only in January 1987. So although commercial and even diplomatic contacts between the two countries have spanned more than one century, the governments and peoples of these distant lands still do not know much about each other. Besides great distance and vastly different cultures, the main obstacle in the 20th century that Mongolia and the U. S. had to face was the Cold War. Mongolia, the second communist nation, achieved its de facto independence from China through the military assistance of Bolshevik troops in 1921 and retained its close alliance with the Soviet Union until the disintegration of that entity in 1990. Meanwhile, the U. S. rose from a peripheral Western power in Asia at the beginning of the century to be the leader of the democratic, free market bloc since World War II. Moreover, the two nations were deliberately kept part through the manipulations of the Republic of China (ROC) and Soviet Union.[1]

Since Mongolia's democratic revolution of 1990, there has been a surge of interest in the U. S. in Mongolia's unique history and nomadic culture. Travel of citizens of the two countries has exploded, Mongolia immigration to the United States has made a strong impact on communities in Northern Virginia, Chicago, Denver, and greater San Francisco, and American businesses have participated in Mongolia's new mineral sector development boom. There is renewed interest in Mongolian Studies in the U. S. and a burgeoning interest in American studies in Mongolia. Nonetheless, there are major gaps in our understanding of Mongolian events both domestically and in its relationships with the Soviet and Chinese governments throughout the last century. This situation warps mutual understanding of key events which still impacts on policymakers' impressions in decision-making in the 21st century.

Researchers on modern Mongolia are always searching for new, varied materials to complete the picture – to better explain how Mongolia survived with his national sovereignty and civilization intact, when so many other nations disappeared during that tumultuous 20th century. This is why this book of Dr. Jon Holstine, based on his Master's thesis research in the 1960s at American University in Washington DC, is so important and significant. Through his exploration and interpretation of mainly Soviet press reports, U. S. newspaper accounts, Survey of the Chinese Mainland Press (SCMP produced by the U. S. Consulate General in Hong Kong), and United Nations documents, Dr. Holstine has opened up a gold mine for the historian to explore. This material is finally published and made available to Mongols, Americans, and other researchers worldwide, and provides them a detailed account, based on contemporary periodicals of Mongolian political and economic relations, especially during the Cold War, when Mongolia was as Holstine explains, a Soviet satellite by necessity.

Holstine has modestly claimed that his research is mainly a chronology of events encased in a Time Capsule during the period, but his contribution is far greater than this. His book has thrown open a much wider analytical window, so it is possible to see how Mongolia emerged from the collapse of the Manchu Qing Empire in 1911 to fit into the Soviet worldview of Asia, and how the Mongolian leaders adroitly preserved their independence while relying heavily on Soviet assistance and expertise. His account clearly articulates that the Mongols benefited from adhering closely to the Soviet Union and rejecting the Chinese model – whether it be that of the ROC or communist China (PRC) – to emerge from the communist experience at the end of the century with their independence intact. This certainly was not an easy feat and remains one of the enduring questions Mongolian historians grapple with. The chapter in Mongolia's accession to the United Nations relates the diplomatic intrigue that underlay that key event, which even today is considered crucial to buttressing Mongolia's rightful independent status in the wider international community. Thus the story outlined in this book provides strong evidence that Mongolia was not a mere pawn in a great power game between its giant neighbors Russia and China, but rather a shrewd albeit seemingly docile political actor that understood its geographical setting and made the most of its limited options.

Dr. Alicia Campi, President, The Mongolia Society

September 2014

---

[1] See my book The Impact of China and Mongolia on United States Political Relations in the Twentieth Century (North Carolina: Edwin Mellen Press, 2008).

Preface

This study originally was my master’s thesis at the American University in Washington DC. I chose the topic out of interest in Sino-Soviet relations at the time, and the intriguing discovery of the relevance to Central Asian politics of Lamaist Buddhism. My coursework at AU included East Asian history and international relations, building on courses taken at Purdue primarily in Russian and Soviet history and economics. At that time we were well and truly in the Cold War, and Communist China was still much a closed book to the West. These various threads came together in the study of Outer Mongolia. It’s very name was a virtual synonym for the exotic or remote.

Fortunately  there was fairly copious material on the pre-communist history of Tibet, Central Asia, Buddhism, and traditional Chinese policies and these connections. This permitted a moderately detailed and necessarily somewhat complicated account of the Mongols, Tibetans, and what became a common religion of Lamaist Buddhism, as these affected imperial China and then czarist Russia. Modern political boundaries did not (nor do they) control traditional sentiments.  Explaining the context of Outer Mongolia's international position necessarily required at least a cursory account of the politics of Central Asia from the 16th century forward. To the reader new to the plentiful and esoteric names and places especially in this first chapter these can be quite daunting. Rather than providing a long list of explanatory notes, it seems more convenient for the curious to explore these names and places through the World Wide Web. Today, 50 years after the study was written, there is much more information readily available. For those more interested in the post 1949 events described here, the first chapter may appear to be simply a matter of curiosity. For those intrigued by those more obscure historical developments, as I have said, the Web provides much  information. Because a major theme behind my analysis was the importance of Lamaist Buddhism in the politics of China's inner Asian frontiers, I would not discourage the interested to pursue that subject

Subsequent chapters deal in order with Mongolian relations with the Soviet Union, the People’s Republic of China, other nations, and the campaign for membership in the United Nations. Sources included translations of Soviet press reports (the Current Digest of the Soviet Press – CDSP)  Joint Publication Research Service material  -- JPRS), and the Chinese version of such material (Survey of the Chinese Mainland Press or SCMP produced by the U. S. Consulate General in Hong Kong).  Newspaper reports were helpful, and UN documents chronicled the last chapter’s narrative. Since the communist press accounts in both countries were not highly detailed, this approach enabled me primarily to create a chronology of events. Evaluating their significance depended on the timing, knowledge of the historical context, and sometimes reasonable guesses. But, this was not a history. There were some items of information to which I had access in classified sources, which I could use as long as I did not attribute them.

The work of Robert Rupen was extremely useful in tracing events of the communist period. In general. when I could compare my thoughts with his more detailed analyses based on better sources, I was accurate as far as I could take my arguments.

This revised version is indeed something of a time capsule. While I have applied experience gained writing my doctoral dissertation and years of editing student papers, so as to clarify my admittedly pretentious circumlocutions, I have refrained from second-guessing myself on the basis of information now available. What I wrote then is what you read now as far as argument and interpretation are concerned.  I have added photographs.

I must acknowledge the cooperation and support of my committee at The American University, Professors Ralph Powell and Millidge Walker. As I completed writing the paper, I was on a tight schedule facing imminent departure for a foreign service post. Both Professors Powell and Walker graciously afforded me timely attention, and most importantly, approval of my work.  Most recently I must gratefully acknowledge and express gratitude to Dr; Alicia Campi, a true scholar and friend of Mongolia.  Her interest in and encouragement of this project have caused me to  move forward with it.

My wife Dorothy typed the next-to-last version, and no doubt helped edit the work. After five decades, I do not claim to recall accurately all the events of that last push.

Jon D. Holstine

September, 2014

Alexandria VA 22310

KHORLOOGIN CHOIBALSAN

KHORLOOGIN CHOIBALSAN

February 8, 1885 -- January 26, 1952

Prime Minister of Mongolia

March 24 1939 -  January 26 1952

YUMJAAGIN TSEDENBAL

YUmjaagin tsedenbal

September 17. 1916  -- April 10, 1991

Prime Minister of Mongolia

January 26 1952 - June 11, 1974

President of Mongolia

June 11. 1954 -- August 8, 1991

CHAPTER I

THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT

After the decline and deposition of the Mongol Dynasty in China, the Mongols returned to their native steppes and reverted to their ancient nomadic way of life. Unified Mongols were dangerous to China, which sought to avoid Mongol unity. The Ming Dynasty divided the warlike nomads into East and West wings, with smaller subdivisions in each wing.[1] Since the Mongol tribes were constantly involved in petty warfare, controlling them was a matter of intervening from time to time and preventing the accrual of too much power in the hands of any one chieftain.[2] This system served as the framework, with refinements and modifications, for Sino-Mongol relations from that time until the last years of the Manchu, or Ch’ing, Dynasty.

During the height of the Ming Dynasty’s power, control of the Mongols was relatively successful, and no tribe seriously threatened the marches of the Central Kingdom. Twice during the early 15th century, the western Oirats Mongols almost succeeded in defeating the eastern Mongols, only to fall short on the brink of success.[3] In 1425, Ming military support enabled the eastern Mongols to defeat the Oirats. In 1453 the Oirats rose again under Esen and actually defeated the eastern tribesmen despite Ming support, only to lose their advantage when Esen died in a struggle among the conquerors for the throne of Mongolia.[4]

After 1453, the eastern tribes retained dominance among the Mongols, but no leader succeeded in unifying the nomads until Dayan Khan came into power. Dayan brought about unity, but then proceeded to destroy it through appanage. His kingdom was divided equally among his 11 sons upon his death in 1543.[5]

The next important phase in Mongolian affairs began with the visit of the Grand Lama of the Yellow Church in Tibet, Sonam Gyatso, to the ruler of the Ordos tribes, known as Anda or Altin Khan, in 1576 or 1577. The visit, marked by great pomp and ceremony, resulted in the adoption by Anda of Tibetan Buddhism, and was the first apparent contact of the Mongols with the religion of Tibet since the days of Kublai Khan. Indeed, it was described by the Lama as the meeting of the reincarnations of the great Khan and Drogon Phagspa, Kublai’s Tibetan tutor. The Lama was given the title of Dalai (Tale in Mongolian, meaning Ocean, for Ocean of Merit) which title was subsequently applied posthumously to Sonam Gyatso’s two predecessors.[6]

The meeting of Sonam Gyatso and the Altin Khan had an extremely important effect; it linked two of China’s border peoples. The import of that link can scarcely be over emphasized. It provided a union of peoples in a great arc from the Himalayan kingdoms of Bhutan and Nepal to Siberia, encircling the Central Kingdom and jeopardizing Chinese control over the Western land – Sinkiang.

The extension of the Yellow Sect of Lamaism to Mongolia… had a bearing not only on the status of Tibet but also upon the whole picture of that part of the world . . . . It had always been the high policy of the Chinese government to prevent the Hiung Nu (Mongolians) and the Chiiang (Tibetans) from joining hands. The policy had been inaugurated by Han Wu-ti (reigned 140-88 B.C.) when he set up command posts and garrison forts in Gansu to drive a wedge between these two warlike neighbors.[7]

The link between the Tibetans and the Mongols was further cemented when Sonam Gyatso returned to Mongolia upon the death of Anda in 1587 or 1588 and died there. The Dalai Lama was reborn not in Tibet, but in Mongolia.[8] This turn of events gave the Mongols greater purchase in Tibet and an involvement in Tibetan affairs which continued in varying degrees until the latter 18th century. It should also be noted that the Mongol-Tibetan connection broadened the framework of Chinese relations with their border regions. Instead of two more or less separate

and distinct areas with which the Chinese must deal, they had one long  

and complex arc of territory with even more difficult problems.

This was increasingly apparent in the early 17th century. During the last few years of the Ming Dynasty, the rise of the Western Mongol Dzungars drove the Khoshotes eastward into the Kokonor region of China. From 1635