Once considered only a problem in Western and Saharan (troubled) regions, Tibet has had a problem with land mines since the 1950 invasion. While China, like the United States, continues to defy the Ottawa Convention (Mine Ban Treaty), it did vote in the UN General Assembly to make the ban universal. It seems China is willing to stop using mines just as long as everyone else does.
On a side note, it is interesting that the United States not only continues to defy the treaty, but was one of just 17 nations in the UN General Assembly to vote against making the ban universal. Citing the Bush Administration's policy, “The United States will not join the Ottawa Convention because its terms would have required us to give up a needed military capability.” The new policy also states, “Landmines still have a valid and essential role protecting United States forces in military operations.... No other weapon currently exists that provides all the capabilities provided by landmines.” Pardon me, but I do not think the point of the treaty is to find a different technology that "provides all the capabilities provided by landmines." That seems to imply the point of the treaty is to find a technology with an even greater capacity for murder!
Anyway, back to the point of this entry. Unlike the Bush administrations blunt f*** you to the nations who have signed the treaty, the Chinese government cares about what other countries think of it and shows a lot of finesse in its apologetic tone regarding the mines. China has said, “Though China is not a party to the Ottawa Convention, it endorses the humanitarian purposes and objectives of the Convention and has been constantly strengthening exchanges and communication with State Parties.” China has even gone so far as to clean up some of its minefields along the Vietnamese border. The fact that Tibet continues to possess minefields implies that China has its own motives for clearing the mines on the Vietnamese border (rather than out of the kindness of their hearts). Nonetheless, this is merely speculation.
In fairness, Chinese landmines in Tibet are consolidated to the uninhabited mountainous regions of the Indian border. However, the landmines remain a threat and are further evidence of the Chinese deterrence of Tibetan emigration. According to the Landmine Monitor 2001 report, the mines kill wildlife such as snow leopards, blue sheep, Tibetan gazelle, alpine musk deer, and my own personal favorite, "Tibetan wild ass." Many of these landmines are leftovers from the Sino-Indian war as well as the Tibetan occupation. China needs to remove these landmines for it is unknown how many Tibetan refugees are killed each year. If they can remove them along the Vietnamese border, surely they can remove them in Tibet.
