FOREIGN RAILROAD INTERESTS IN MANCHURIA: AN IRRITANT IN CHINESE-JAPANESE RELATIONS (1903-1937)

After Ch'ing China had been defeated by Japan in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95, the Manchu government decided to utilize Russian power to protect its interests from further Japanese encroachment. China was aware that the Tsarist government was alarmed by the cession of the Liao-tung Peninsula to Japan. The Li-Lobanov Treaty of 1896 authorized the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway which was completed in 1903. This railway was the first foreign owned railroad in China.;Tensions between Russia and Japan ultimately exploded into the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 which resulted in a stunning Japanese victory in 1905. The terms of the Portsmouth Treaty by which the War was ended required Russia among other things to cede to Japan the southern portion of the Chinese Eastern Railway and a branch line of the South Manchurian Railway system. Simultaneously, Japan had been re-enforcing her position in Manchura by the remodelling of the Shen-An line which was integrated into the South Manchurian Railway system. The pattern of Sino-Russian-Japanese competition continued over the next few decades and culminated in the Japanese seizure of Manchuria in 1931. Throughout this period, railroad rivalry was the pivotal issue.;China responded in her own defense by extending the Peking-Shanhaikuan line into Manchuria; as early as 1903 the line had been lengthened to Hsinmen. In 1911, China purchased from Japan the Mukden-Hsinmen light railroad which had been built by the latter without China's permission during the Russo-Japanese War.;Since the two foreign owned railroads, the Chinese Eastern and South Manchurian Railways, had become operative, China felt that not only had her economic rights been ignored but also her very sovereignty challenged. Consequently, China planned to continue to construct railroads in order to prevent her rights from further encroachment by Russia and Japan. As a consequence of the Russian-Japanese rivalry neither the Chin-Ai nor the Hsin-Fa Railways were built by the Chinese. Meanwhile, the Peking government signed the "Five Railroads Loan Agreement in Manchuria and Mongolia" with Japan. This agreement authorized the construction of the Japanese influenced Szu-T'ao, T'ao-Ang, Chi-Ch'ang and Chi-Tun Railways, to be built one after another. Thus China's situation became worse than ever.;In desparate response China established a Manchurian local transportation committee in Mukden in1921. Because of this committee's effort, the Shen-Hai, Chi-Hai, Ta-T'ung, Ch'i-K'e, T'ao-Suo, and Hu-Hai Railways were built within a period of only 10 years. Roughly 590 miles of railroad line were completed by Chinese construction crews before the Mukden Incident of 1931. These railroads reaped a considerable profit for China and gave the Chinese Eastern and South Manchurian Railways some spirited indigenous competition. However, China's success was made academic by Japan's decision to use military forces to occupy the whole of Manchuria in 1931.;By the time of World War I, all of the world powers had been aware of Japan's ambition in Asia. However, they chose not to interfere with Japan's design until the Washington Conference of 1921. Unfortunately, the Conference found no solutions that were able to impede the ever-growing crisis in northeast Asia. The continued non-decisiveness on the part of the Western powers did nothing to restrain Japan's aggressive plans for the region.;Following Japan's seizure of Manchuria in 1931, China accused Japan before the League of Nations. This was to no avail. Biding her time, Japan initiated the Luckouch'iao Incident in 1937 and the second Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945 began. This war subsequently became enveloped in the Asian theatre of World War II. Thus the relatively obscure Manchurian railroad rivalry clearly emerged as the genesis of a global conflict.