The Treaty of Friendship and Alliance Between the Government of Mongolia and Tibet was signed in 1913 at Urga (now Ulaanbaatar).

Although the Republic of China insisted the succession of the whole Qing Empire, the Mongolians and Tibetans regarded the fall of the Qing Dynasty as the separation of the Empire. This meant that the Manchu Empire was dissolved into China, Mongolia, Tibet and Eastern Turkestan. They concluded the treaty proclaiming the independence of Tibet and Mongolia, and mutual recognition.

However, the independence of neither Tibet nor Mongolia was recognized by other powers which continued to recognize the sovereignty of the Republic of China over these areas. The interests of Western powers (particularly Russia and Britain) in these areas were guaranteed by treaties with the Qing dynasty which the Republic of China pledged to uphold. By recognizing the independence of Mongolia or Tibet, the Western powers would have invalidated those treaties. In addition, there was fear among the Western powers (again particularly Russia and Britain) that recognizing Tibetan or Mongolian independence would allow those areas to be controlled by other Western powers, a situation which all concerned believed to be worse than the situation in which those areas were nominally under the control of a weak China.

Mongolia gained an independent government by 1924 with the aid of Western powers (again, particularly Russia), and the Republic of China recognised its independence after World War II after pressure from Western powers (particular Russia), but later turned retreated the recognition.

See also: History of Tibet

External link

• English translation of the Treaty from Tibetan