So I feel pretty bad about getting us GFWed. If, in fact, it was me.
Readers of my other blog have already seen this, our translation of blogger Zhang Wen and some Chinese netizens’ thoughts on how China should deal with the DPRK in the wake of the rather unassailable evidence that it was, in fact, a North Korean submarine that attacked and sunk a South Korean warship in March, killing 46 sailors.
China’s relationship with North Korea has always been a point of contention with the West, but the DPRK’s recent brazen aggressiveness may be difficult for China to explain away. Given its veto power on the UN Security Council, China can block international efforts to punish North Korea if it chooses, but with 46 lives lost in an unprovoked military attack, the diplomatic cost of such a maneuver would be higher than China may be interested in paying.
Beijing is trapped in the middle, with much-needed trading partners on one side and an old ally on the other. As the North and South of the Korean peninsula gear up for war, China potentially has the power to resolve the situation peacefully. But will they?
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