Golden Triangle at Russia's Eastern Frontiers: Prospects for Transboundary Co-operation in the Tumannaya River Delta

The article deals with the problems of joint development of the lower reaches of the border river Tumannaya, which has acquired special relevance in 2024 in the context of a sharp rise in Russia's interaction with the DPRK and the development of Russian-Chinese cooperation. The situation directly affects the national interests of Russia, the PRC and the DPRK, and can both stimulate multilateral cooperation and form painful problem areas. ‘The Tumannaya River Area Development Programme, initiated in 1990 by the Chinese side and supported by the United Nations Development Programme, developed from the very beginning in two conceptually different directions. One of them focused on cross-border cooperation between neighbouring states, while the other envisaged the creation of a Northeast Asian logistics hub with access to the Sea of Japan (East Sea). As part of the development of this project, in 1993 the DPRK adopted the Law on the Rason Trade and Economic Zone, established at the junction of the borders with China and Russia in the areas of the port of Rajin and the city of Sonbon. The radical change in the international situation and the rapid rapprochement between Russia and the DPRK observed recently create prerequisites for the revival of the project of multilateral cooperation on the development of the Tumannaya River Delta as a hub of Russian-North Korean interaction. At the same time, it implies not only Russian-Korean long-term cooperation, but also the formation of a new regional subsystem of the international division of labour and value chains in North-East Asia. It could be implemented both within the framework of the special trade and economic zone ‘Rason’ and within the framework of the actively discussed project of creating a duty-free and visa-free zone with preferential taxation in the southern part of Primorsky Krai on the territory bordering with the DPRK and the PRC. An important aspect of the need for joint development of the Tumannaya River delta by the bordering countries is China's desire to secure its access to the Sea of Japan (East Sea), which may have ambiguous geopolitical consequences and should be subject to comprehensive analysis and agreement of the actors concerned.

Tumannaya River, Russia, PRC, DPRK, transboundary cooperation