China's short sighted Korea Policy

[kickok1975]

Chinese government still treats North Korea as an ally, hope to keep US at the bay and hold a so called "buffer "area. Maybe Chinese leaders care more about ideology than their country's interest. But if such short sighted policy doesn't change, China will shoot her own foot in the future.

North Korea's dictator is enjoying his cat and mouse game right now. He never wants to be disciplined. He will do anything to keep himself and his family in power, even millions of people loses their life. However, North Korea's collapse is imminent. Korea will be eventually united. Not by North though. Dear leader and his family will be remembering as one of the most brutal dictators in human history. By then what Korean people would think about China? How would they or the world teach their future generations about this page of history, and China's role in it?

Maybe China doesn't care, because China is powerful. But power itself doesn't get respect. US is powerful. She supported China's civil war in 1940's, how many Chinese appreciated it? The Chinese government even took advantage of it and "educated" Chinese to hate "US imperialist "for decades. As a world power, China should treat her neighbors in a responsible way instead of making same mistake US made decades ago.

In terms of "buffer zone", that's nonsense. In today's world, North Korea's few hundred kilometers inland is meaningless. F-22 can fly from Japan to Chinese border in 45 minutes. A Los Angeles class Nuclear submarine can reach Yellow sea in 36 hours from Guam. China didn't need any "buffer zone" in 1960's when Soviet Union had a million strong army staged by Chinese border, why they need it today?

Korea is China's neighbor, so do many countries surrounding China. They are watching China's action toward her neighbors closely. Such policy is increasingly showing signs of trouble. China is constantly embarrassed by North Korea's actions. China's security is getting worse instead of getting better. Her neighbors are nervous. It's time for Chinese government to show some responsibility.

 

[Tshering22]

A very positive article indeed. CCP needs to understand that it will earn the respect of West as well as ROK and Japan as well which is a big chunk of important world if it stops defending DPRK over and over. DPRK is a situation out of control and as you say, Kim Jong Il will stop at nothing to preserve his supremacy in his country; even at the cost of millions of North Koreans. In fact it is due to past actions and development of nukes that Chinese government overlooked that now DPRK has started to use their nuclear weapons as a blackmail tool. Tomorrow it could blackmail China as well with these same weapons that it would sell nuclear codes to terrorists operating in China.

Not just 1 North Korea but Chinese government is now having 2 North Koreas that will only threaten Chinese reputation and even nation in the future--- the other being Pakistan. While your government invests billions to use the country as a potential political hedge against us (all is fair in politics), it is also creating a problem for itself. USA had no idea during Cold War that Pakistan would turn out to be such a nuisance someday and despite our warning, continued to defend it. I agree that bilateral ties are solely upto what a country feels right but there's something called collateral cost. When that ally becomes a problem for rest of the people in the region, then one's own reputation also falls.

And that is not good because it simply gives a negative image not just to West but to other countries within the region. Think that if our issues are solved easily, how much China could gain from India, South Korea and Japan; far more than Pakistan and North Korea could ever do. Our demand for infrastructure and cost effective methods of developing means almost endless business for Chinese major companies which will be given green light to conduct business in any way since all our disputes would have been solved. We could maybe in future also engage in joint weapons development where China doesn't need to be the financer as well as the aide of customer countries but share a business on equal footing with Indian companies.

I know I sound optimistic but all this is possible if at all the CCP changes its stance towards its neighbourhood and choose its partners of future more carefully.

 

[kickok1975]

A very positive article indeed. CCP needs to understand that it will earn the respect of West as well as ROK and Japan as well which is a big chunk of important world if it stops defending DPRK over and over. DPRK is a situation out of control and as you say, Kim Jong Il will stop at nothing to preserve his supremacy in his country; even at the cost of millions of North Koreans. In fact it is due to past actions and development of nukes that Chinese government overlooked that now DPRK has started to use their nuclear weapons as a blackmail tool. Tomorrow it could blackmail China as well with these same weapons that it would sell nuclear codes to terrorists operating in China.

Not just 1 North Korea but Chinese government is now having 2 North Koreas that will only threaten Chinese reputation and even nation in the future--- the other being Pakistan. While your government invests billions to use the country as a potential political hedge against us (all is fair in politics), it is also creating a problem for itself. USA had no idea during Cold War that Pakistan would turn out to be such a nuisance someday and despite our warning, continued to defend it. I agree that bilateral ties are solely upto what a country feels right but there's something called collateral cost. When that ally becomes a problem for rest of the people in the region, then one's own reputation also falls.

And that is not good because it simply gives a negative image not just to West but to other countries within the region. Think that if our issues are solved easily, how much China could gain from India, South Korea and Japan; far more than Pakistan and North Korea could ever do. Our demand for infrastructure and cost effective methods of developing means almost endless business for Chinese major companies which will be given green light to conduct business in any way since all our disputes would have been solved. We could maybe in future also engage in joint weapons development where China doesn't need to be the financer as well as the aide of customer countries but share a business on equal footing with Indian companies.

I know I sound optimistic but all this is possible if at all the CCP changes its stance towards its neighbourhood and choose its partners of future more carefully.

Agree, that's why I called their policy short sighted. I guess they begin to realize it.