by such Western nations as the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. It showed the West that the Soviets could use both diplomacy and military might to achieve its goal. However, while some might have applauded the Soviets for using those techniques, others feared them in a legitimate concern. The Western nations were frightened that might mean the Soviet Union might one day be able to beat a Western nation at its own game. The impact of the conflict left the region in a power vacuum, which left the door wide open for the Japanese to take control of the region. After observing how easily Soviet forces had beaten the Chinese, the Japanese used a similar technique to defeat the Chinese and to occupy Manchuria after the Mukden Incident in 1931. Aftermath When Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and also occupied the Soviet zone of influence, the Soviet Union was still not strong enough in the East to oppose the Japanese. Stalin adopted a policy of strict neutrality, and the Soviet Union sold its rights to the Chinese Eastern Railway to the Manchukuo government on 23 March 1935. Deportation of Chinese In 1928, Arsenyev Mikhail Mikhailovich (), Staff Colonel of Red Army Headquarter, submitted a report to the Far Eastern Bureau that advised that free migration from China and Korea in the areas bordering the countries should be stopped and that the area should be filled with migrants from Siberia and Europe instead. As the Sino-Soviet conflict over the Chinese Eastern Railway worsened bilateral relations, the Soviet government began to stop Chinese crossing the border since 1931. All Soviet diplomats in China were called back, all Chinese diplomats to Soviet Union were expelled, and trains between China and Russia were forced out of service. The Soviets forced the Chinese to move to Northeast China. Thousands of Chinese in Irkutsk, Chita, and Ulan-Ude were arrested for breach of local orders, tax evasion, and other reasons. When they left Russia, any Chinese to cross the border with more than 30 rubles in cash had to pay the surplus to the authorities. If they had at least 1,000 rubles in cash, they would arrested and have all their money confiscated. Large numbers of Chinese were detained, according to the Shanghai-based newspaper Shen Bao on 24 July 1929. It said that "around a thousand Chinese who lived in Vladivostok were detained by the