China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi gestures as he speaks during a news conference as part of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing March 8, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Stringer
China Draws ‘Red Line’ On US, Not North Korea -- Zachary Peck, The Diplomat
Western media outlets reported this weekend that China’s FM Wang Yi drew a “red line” against Pyongyang. He didn’t.
At his press conference at the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC), Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi drew a “red line” on the North Korean issue.
“The Korean peninsula is right on China’s doorstep. We have a red line, that is, we will not allow war or instability on the Korean peninsula,” Wang said, according to Reuters.
The Reuters report suggested that Wang’s red line was aimed at North Korea. “China is North Korea’s most important diplomatic and economic supporter,” Reuters noted, before saying “though Beijing’s patience with Pyongyang has been severely tested following three nuclear tests and numerous bouts of saber rattling, including missile launches.”
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My Comment: China is always looking at the U.S. when they are talking about the Korean peninsula .... so yes .... this is a "red line" message to the U.S.. But as I had mentioned in this post .... China was deliberately vague when announcing this red line .... so this is where I am wondering if the message was also directed at North Korea to not inflame or destabilize the region .... in short .... to not provoke and to not expand their nuclear program.
1 comment:
A guess, and only a guess. The Chinese have some things going on right now that don't need a lot of US attention. So to North Korea "Don't stir up the Americans too much." To the US "this is our backyard, stay out". Somewhat SOP for the last 60 years. One difference, the US is receding in it's presence. The Chinese should believe this can only be to their benefit if things don't get out of their control.
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