Posted on 04/12/17
| News Source: NY Post
China issued a blunt warning to North Korea on Wednesday — telling its belligerent ally to not conduct nuclear weapons or missile tests, or it was likely to face military action by the US.
“Not only [is] Washington brimming with confidence and arrogance following the missile attacks on Syria, but Trump is also willing to be regarded as a man who honors his promises,” said the People’s Daily, the ruling Communist Party’s official paper.
North Korea should halt any plans for nuclear and missile tests “for its own security,” the newspaper said, making it clear that the US would not “co-exist” with a nuclear-armed Pyongyang.
North Korean state media threatened a nuke attack on America at any sign of aggression, as a US Navy aircraft carrier and several destroyers and cruisers steamed toward the Korean Peninsula — a force which President Trump described as an “armada.”
Trump, who has pressured China to do more to rein in its belligerent ally, said in a tweet that North Korea was “looking for trouble” and that the US would “solve the problem” with or without Beijing’s help.
The Korean Peninsula has not been so close to a “military clash” since the North conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, the paper said.
“The US is making up its mind to stop the North from conducting further nuclear tests. It doesn’t plan to co-exist with a nuclear-armed Pyongyang. Pyongyang should avoid making mistakes at this time,” the paper said.
The Global Times, another paper whose stance often aligns with Chinese government policy, said Beijing would likely react strongly to any North Korean test.
“If the North makes another provocative move this month, the Chinese society will be willing to see the [UN Security Council] adopt severe restrictive measures that have never been seen before, such as restricting oil imports to the North,” the paper said.
Meanwhile, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Trump spoke by phone Wednesday about the rising tensions with North Korea.
The call, reported by China’s state broadcaster, CCTV, came hours after Trump’s warning tweet.
Team Trump arranged the call, in which Xi said the dispute should be settled peacefully, state news agency Xinhua reported.
But tension mounted after Japan announced that its own naval vessels would join the American ships, which are led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.
North Korea on Saturday will the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, founder of the nation and grandfather of the country’s current nutjob leader, Kim Jong Un.
Various reports said Kim planned to mark the occasion by testing another nuke or missile as a show of force.
Xi told Trump he was willing to work with Washington on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons program during the phone call.
“China insists on realizing the denuclearization of the peninsula, insists on maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula, and advocates resolving the problem through peaceful means,” Xi was quoted as saying.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Wednesday at a regular briefing in Beijing that it was a “good thing” that the two leaders were in touch again days after meeting in Florida.
Regarding the US Navy strike force’s arrival in the western Pacific, Lu said: “We hope all parties will refrain from irresponsible actions that would be very dangerous at the moment.”
But the US and other foreign governments have long overestimated China’s ability to affect Pyongyang’s behavior, said Ruan Zongze, a US relations expert at the China Institute of International Studies, a think tank run by the foreign ministry.
“There’s a view that China possesses the key to solving the peninsula problem, or that China has the faucet and that all China has to do is shut it off and the peninsula issue is solved,” Ruan said.
“In fact, I think the outside exaggerates the sort of role China can play. China isn’t really as influential as all that,” he said.
Beijing’s insistence on a peaceful approach to resolving the issue is rooted in its belief that any attempt to denuclearize the North by force would bring cataclysmic results for all sides, including China, Ruan said.
“When it comes to the issue of the Korean Peninsula, violence is not an option,” he said.