Outer Mongolia

Outer Mongolia was the name of a territory in the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China from 1691 to 1911. It corresponds to the modern-day independent state of Mongolia and the Russian republic of Tuva.

The historical region gained de facto independence from Qing China during the Xinhai Revolution and the Republic of China formally recognized the independence of Mongolia on January 5, 1946. This was revoked in 1953 after the Soviet Union violated the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance and the ROC reasserted claims to Outer Mongolia, a claim that would continue to appear in ROC maps until 2002 when the Democratic Progressive Party-led government re-recognized Mongolia.

History

While the administrative region of Outer Mongolia during the Qing dynasty only consisted of the four Khalkha aimags (Setsen Khan Aimag, Tüsheet Khan Aimag, Sain Noyon Khan Aimag, and Zasagt Khan Aimag), in the late Qing period, "Outer Mongolia" was also used to refer to the combined Khalkha and Oirat regions, as well as the directly-ruled Tannu Uriankhai.

Much of the region was subsequently claimed by the Republic of China, which had acquired the legal right to inherit all Qing territories through the Imperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor, as an integral part of the state. This is referred to as Mongolia Area by Kuomintang to distinguish it from Outer Mongolia since 1928. Most of Outer Mongolia, however, was under the de facto control of the Bogd Khanate, which was largely unrecognized internationally. The Republic of China briefly established de facto rule over most of the region from 1919 to 1921. After the Mongolian People's Republic was founded in 1924, the Nationalist government of China de jure recognized Mongolian independence in 1946 under Soviet pressure, though this recognition was later rescinded by the Kuomintang government in 1953, which had retreated to Taiwan because of continued Soviet support to the Chinese communists.