 According to Wei Yuan's work "Military history of the Qing dynasty" (), the Later Jin sent 400 troops to Sakhalin in 1616 in response to Japanese activity in the area, but later withdrew, judging there to be no major threat to their control of the island.The 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk between Russia and China, which defined the Stanovoy Mountains as their mutual border, made no explicit mention of the island; however, the Qing dynasty (1636–1912) did consider the island to be part of its territory, and enacted policies of a pattern similar to the previous Ming dynasty, which drew Sakhalin further into the "system for subjugated peoples".Local people were forced to pay tribute at Qing posts, and Qing officials sometimes granted titles to local elders, entrusting them with the task of "keeping the peace".