Source: North Net, Shandong Provincial Oceanic Bureau
Text | Gu Xuan said history
Edit | Gu Xuan said history
This may be the strongest leakage incident in the history of mainland diplomacy, a treaty that was inconspicuous at the beginning, but now the mainland has made a lot of money.
The paper treaty, called the Treaty of Svalbard, was born in connection with an archipelago in the Arctic, where there was an area where citizens of the mainland could mine and trade in what should have been cold and lonely. [Listen to the song]
01
A masterpiece of diplomacy
The Svalbard Treaty was first signed in 1920, and it was the Svalbard archipelago located in the Arctic Ocean that it was born.
It was first discovered by the Dutch explorer Barron on June 17, 1596, but the snow-covered island did not interest him, as it was not suitable for habitation and cultivation.
But the island's towering peaks earned him the nickname "Spitsbergen", which means "pinnacle on the ice field", and the archipelago is also known as "Svalbard", which means "cold coast".
However, because Barron died of illness on the way back, and did not report whether he had taken ownership of the territory under the king's banner, the island was discovered, but it was still terra nullius.
Since then, many people have come to the island to explore, and the appearance and topography of the archipelago have gradually improved, and a large amount of coal has been found here.
In fact, the Arctic region, as one of the two poles of the earth, has always had a different kind of attraction for human beings, so after the appearance and resources of Svalbard were revealed, more and more people came here to investigate and explore.
Many Europeans even colonized and settled here, and they also built cities on the island, including one called "Longyearbyen", which is the closest city in the world to the North Pole, only 1,300 kilometers.
However, although some people came here to explore and settle, Svalbard was a land without an owner after all, so in this context, European countries began to compete openly and covertly.
However, there are already many explorers who have settled on this island, and they cannot be driven away because of each other's rivalry, and although it is rich in coal and other ores, it is also very cold and desolate.
In the end, under various diplomatic mediations, diplomats from various countries came up with a plan that everyone agreed on, that is, to divide the land into a neutral zone, where anyone who joined the treaty could develop and investigate.
Therefore, on February 9, 1920, 18 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Sweden and Norway, signed the "Spitsbergen Treaty" in Paris for the first time, which was the prototype of the later "Svalbard Treaty".
The treaty provided for the transfer of sovereignty over the islands to Norway, both because of their proximity and because of the large number of settled people, but the citizens of the "Contracting States" had the right to settle, mine and trade on the islands.
The mainland, which was still the Beiyang government at that time, officially joined this treaty in 1925, but the signing of this treaty did not cause any splash for China at that time.
02
Sign a treaty
On April 9, 1925, Duan Qirui, then president of the Beiyang government, received a diplomatic note from France, asking him to join the then Treaty of Spitsbergen.
And Duan Qirui's reaction after seeing it is estimated to be: Where is this? Why are we here? Is there something wrong in the middle?
After all, China at this time can be said to have been pitted by the great powers since the late Qing Dynasty, and the Beiyang government has not ended until this time, so Duan Qirui is actually suspicious of this free territory.
Prior to this, he had been cheated about 65 million yuan because of the 1922 Golden Franc case, and France at that time claimed that it would return the original Gengzi indemnity for the Beiyang government as a fund for the development of Sino-French education or repayment of the bank.
As a result, the other party settled in gold and Franco, and due to the sharp depreciation of France's currency during World War I, France not only did not return the money to China in the end, but the Beiyang government paid a large amount more.
So when he saw that France wanted to give him a benefit, Duan Qirui didn't believe it at all, but France was still very sincere, after all, during World War I, the Beiyang government shook a large number of people to join the Entente to participate in the war.
However, in the end, as the winning country, Shandong was assigned to Japan by Britain and the United States, which caused a sensation and dissatisfaction from all walks of life at that time, and the May Fourth Movement broke out because of this.
As the leader of the Entente at that time, France, naturally had a relationship with the Beiyang government in this regard to the extreme, after all, it had let the other side enter the war, but it had not yet allowed the other party to get a little benefit.
Seeing that the relationship between the two sides was getting worse and worse, and some of France's industries and development in China were also frustrated one after another, in order to stabilize its interests in China, France decided to draw China into the "Spitsbergen Treaty".
Of course, for the Beiyang government at the time, this treaty actually had no practical significance, because China at that time did not have the ability to mine and do business in this archipelago.
However, the controversial Beiyang government really needs such a treaty at this time to show that Europe and the United States and other countries have not forgotten their identity as a victorious country, and they still have a lot of victories.
So after asking some people, Duan Qirui accepted this favor from France, after all, "no matter how small the mosquito leg is, it is also meat".
So in 1925, the original "Spitsbergen Treaty" added 33 countries including China, the Soviet Union, and Germany, and changed its name to the "Svalbard Treaty".
The entry into force of this treaty also turned Svalbard into the only demilitarized zone in the Arctic, stipulating that war would never break out there.
As a treaty that pushed the boat along the river, it had no impact on the Beiyang government at that time, and even after the founding of New China, people did not remember that there was such a treaty and land.
It wasn't until 1991 that the arrival of the expedition team changed everything and made it a famous "leakage incident" in the history of mainland diplomacy.
03
Based on the North Pole
In the autumn of 1991, Ye Xin, a professor at the University of Bergen in Norway, invited mainland explorer Gao Dengyi to explore the Arctic region, including Svalbard.
In fact, before the expedition set out, Gao Dengyi did not know what had happened to this island, until a book called "The Arctic Guide" sandwiched the original text of the treaty, and he also discovered that China was actually in the original treaty.
At that time, the mainland could be said to have no place in the Arctic region, and while many countries were actively building scientific research stations here, the mainland still did not have a place where research could be fixed.
So Gao Dengyi immediately contacted China and told them that there was a piece of land in the Arctic region that could build a scientific research station.
For many people on the continent, this is undoubtedly a cause for celebration, as the approach to the Arctic is very cold, but the underground energy sources such as minerals, oil and coal can be said to be abundant.
Moreover, the Arctic has high archaeological and exploration value, and there are many places for people to conduct research, so mainland scientists immediately decided to build their own research station in Svalbard.
Later, the mainland sent the "Snow Dragon" to explore the Arctic region, and began negotiations with Norway to build a scientific research station in Svalbard.
Finally, on July 28, 2004, the mainland built its own "Yellow River Station" in the Neo-Ålsund area, which is also the first scientific research station of the mainland in the Arctic region.
Unexpectedly, a treaty that was considered unimportant by the Beiyang government became a cornerstone for New China to settle in the Arctic in the future.
The mainland has also started its own Arctic expedition with the Yellow River Station as the center, and the Chinese Arctic scientific expedition team has conducted many investigations and researches.
The mainland has obtained a lot of valuable samples and data from here, contributed more than 120 papers, and also found many valuable research results.
For example, on August 24, 2012, during the fifth scientific expedition, it was found that some toxic and harmful gases appeared in the Arctic region, which would cause cancerous changes in the human body, so the changes in the environment and pollution were judged.
It is precisely through these explorations that the mainland has also conducted more in-depth research on environmental protection and climate change, and has gradually embarked on its own path of polar exploration.
At the same time, in Svalbard, the mainland has also built mining and other facilities in the local area, and the rich underground resources in the local area can also be extracted for people's use.
And the island also allows Chinese citizens to come and go freely and explore, of course, because the environment is not particularly good, so it is very good for people to pass, and there are not many people on the island.
But it is this land shrouded in snow and ice that forms the continent's path to the Arctic exploration.
04
Polar exploration
The continent is home to almost every year in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, making it known to be one of the most frequently studied countries in these two regions.
Many people may feel that the cost of polar exploration is high, and there are not many results that can be obtained, most of which are some research materials, which are not as good as oil, natural gas and other energy sources that are directly available to people.
However, the scientific research carried out by the mainland through the two levels of the region has never ended, and even gradually increased its efforts, so that through these data, we can better observe the changes in the environment and climate.
In addition to these, the polar regions also have very large resources, but they are not easy to exploit because they are shrouded in ice and snow, but they can also take the lead in layout.
At the same time, there are many special creatures in the two places, such as polar bears, penguins and other animals, and the profits generated by these animals in the short term are also a lot of wealth.
Of course, as a late-developing country, the mainland has been able to get to where it is today, and it has also made considerable efforts behind it.
The first scientific research station established on the mainland was the Great Wall Station in Antarctica, which was established on December 31, 1984, not long after the mainland joined the Antarctic Treaty.
Even the mainland did not have its own icebreaker at that time, so the first scientists to carry out polar exploration still faced great dangers, and relied on their own spirit of sacrifice to survive.
Since then, Zhongshan Station, Kunlun Station, Taishan Station and Ross Sea New Station have been built, and the diving and icebreaking equipment has also been continuously developed.
And in the Arctic, where only one archipelago provides a scientific research station, the mainland has made a lot of investment in scientific research, and has gained a lot of research materials through many actions.
Of course, this speed has also attracted the attention of Europe and the United States, who believe that the mainland should participate in the exploration of the polar regions in order to dig up more resources, but when it comes to the study and observation of the polar regions, the mainland is also really at the forefront.
Recall that 100 years ago, when the Beiyang government received a letter from France asking it to join the Svalbard Treaty, China had no idea about the Arctic at all, and even this document was just a casual signature.
But who would have thought that 100 years later, China would be able to use this document to become one of the cornerstones of its "exploration of 80,000 miles across the three oceans".
Although some people say that no one can stop the national fortune, the efforts of countless people behind it are also very important.
After all, luck may be very strong, but if you don't grasp it, you won't be where you are today.
Information sources:
[1] NorthNet, "Chinese Scientists Can Come and Go Freely – Because of the Svalbard Treaty"
[2] Shandong Provincial Oceanic Bureau, Shandong Provincial Oceanic Bureau, Shandong Provincial Oceanic Bureau, Shandong Provincial Oceanic Bureau