Truthdig
U.S-China-North Korea Tensions Increase Threat of Global Nuclear War
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/us-china-north_korea_tensions_bring_thre
at_of_nuclear_war_20170706/
Posted on Jul 6, 2017
By Mel Gurtov / PeaceVoice
(http://www.peacevoice.info/2017/07/04/apb-the-us-china-north-korea-tangle/)
North Korean soldiers parade in Pyongyang in 2013 to mark the 60th
anniversary of the Korean War armistice. (Wong Maye-E / AP
(http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/North-Korea-Playing-the-Nuke-Card/fb
f1d2e8a41a4e8cb185413ba869b245/2/0) )
Its not too early to sound alarm bells about the downward turn in United
States-China relations. Donald Trumps evident frustration with China over
its presumed failure to rein in North Korea has already led to a number of
steps that have rankled Beijing. These include a State Department report on
human trafficking that includes sharp criticism of Chinas denial of human
rights; statements from the administration about Chinas unfair trade
practices; a major U.S. arms sale to Taiwan; and a U.S. frigates sail-by in
South China Sea waters close to Chinese-claimed territory.
A phone call on July 3 from Trump to Xi Jinping comforted the Chinese leader
on one point: Trumps pledge to continue to honor the One China principle
and prior U.S.-China understandings regarding Taiwan. But even on that
point, and no doubt with the $1.4 billion arms sale in mind, Xi reportedly
said he hopes the U.S. will properly handle the Taiwan-related issues in
accordance with the one-China principle and the three Sino-U.S. joint
communiqués. Xi also said
(http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2017-07/03/c_1121254478.htm) that while
U.S.-China relations had achieved important results since his meeting with
Trump at Mar-a-lago, at the same time, the two countries relations had
been influenced by some negative factors.
On the face of it, the Xi-Trump conversation seems like a positive exchange.
But the Chinese account does not mention that Trump, according to a New York
Times report
(https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/03/world/asia/trump-xi-jinping-china-north-
korea.html) on Monday, also warned China that the U.S. may have to take
unilateral steps in dealing with North Korea, which has just tested another
long-range ballistic (nuclear-weapons-capable) missile. That warning will
only accomplish two things: It will tell China that the brief honeymoon in
U.S.-China cooperation is over, and will show once again that Washington has
failed to learn the lesson of years past that China cannot, and will not,
pressure Kim Jong Un to cease nuclear and missile tests and denuclearize.
READ: Russia-China Relationship Is Growing Closer, and That Could Hurt U.S.
National Security
(http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/russia-china_relationship_grows_closer_
shifting_global_power_20170705)
Trump has said that Obamas North Korea policy of strategic patience is
dead. But Trumps threat of military action against the North is worse. The
Chinese have put forward a freeze-for-freeze proposala halt to U.S.
military exercises on the Korean peninsula in exchange for a halt to North
Korean weapons teststhat makes far more sense. Only direct U.S.-North Korea
dialogue holds any prospect of reducing the risk of an unprecedented
calamitous war.
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