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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| China unlikely to come to North Korea's defence if tensions escalate over nuclear weapons tests, say Chinese experts |
| 2016-04-17 |
| China is unlikely to defend North Korea in case tensions escalate on the Korean peninsula over Pyongyang's nuclear provocations ÂÂdespite a mutual defence pact between the two communist allies, mainland scholars say. The more tension the Norks create, the more neighboring countries feel it's OK to arm themselves, and the worse that is for China. Professor Pang Zhongying, an international relations expert at Renmin University, said Pyongyang's nuclear development, which Beijing viewed as a threat to its security interests, had irreversibly damaged Sino-North Korean relations and rendered the treaty effectively null and void. "The treaty is China's only legally binding bilateral security pact remaining in force. But it exists only in the legal sense and it is highly unlikely that China will provide military aid in the event of a conflict or war," he said. Professor Shen Jiru of the Institute on World Economy and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said Beijing should not be bound by the treaty if Pyongyang continued to pursue its programme to develop nuclear weapons. "The treaty was a relic of the cold war which made no mention of specific circumstances under which China would provide military aid,"he said. He noted when the treaty was signed in 1961, the Chinese government was "immature and diplomatically inexperienced" in entering into a vaguely worded defence treaty. Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese studies at London's King's College, said the treaty put China in "permanent quandaries". "In 1961, I guess the treaty was a means for China to control North Korea against Soviet influence. But now the tables are turned and it is North Korea which is blackmailing and controlling China," he said. Shen also said the treaty did not make any sense in the light of the national security concept Beijing has adopted since Jiang Zemin was president, namely opposition to military alliances with other countries. When asked at a press conference last month on the sidelines of the ÂÂNational People's Congress meeting whether China would help defend North Korea in case of a conflict or war as Beijing did during the 1950-53 Korean war, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China would neither tolerate instability on the Korean peninsula, nor accommodate Pyongyang's pursuit of a nuclear and missile programme. In a sign of China's growing frustration and impatience with North Korea, China backed a United Nations resolution early last month to toughen sanctions against Pyongyang. Last week, China's Ministry of Commerce rolled out new bans on imports of coal, iron ore, gold, titanium and rare earths, and exports of a range of products, including jet fuel, to North Korea. |
| Posted by:Fester Thrimble9033 |
| #4 Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China would neither tolerate instability on the Korean peninsula, nor accommodate Pyongyang's pursuit of a nuclear and missile programme. Didn't quite answer the question of "whether China would help defend North Korea in case of a conflict or war," did it? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2016-04-17 18:01 |
| #3 Sounds about right. |
| Posted by: newc 2016-04-17 12:54 |
| #2 well that all depends on the situation in the South China Sea, doesn't it do what we want in the South China Sea and we will reign in the Norks. |
| Posted by: anon1 2016-04-17 03:03 |
| #1 Well, you do not mind if the Neighbors handle the domestic disturbance then? My suggestion is, Re-Unification. You have enough of your own problems China. But if you want it, what purchasing parity would you suggest worthy for that piece of crap? |
| Posted by: newc 2016-04-17 01:43 |