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But few people are aware that China’s “nonalignment” is more in name than in reality. In fact, China has signed a treaty of military alliance with none other than North Korea.
The two countries signed the Sino-North Korea Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance Treaty in July, 1961 in Beijing. The second article of this treaty stipulates that both countries will take all necessary measures to protect each other from foreign invasion. If one country is attacked, the other will come to its aid with military and all other necessary support. This treaty is still in effect.
These days China does not mention this treaty or publicly acknowledge its alliance with North Korea. A major reason is certainly the nuclear issue. North Korea’s stubborn insistence on developing nuclear weapons has made China furious, as well as reluctant to guarantee its protection under the treaty.
On several occasions, spokespersons for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have responded to journalists’ inquiries as to whether China still retains its alliance with North Korea by saying that Sino-North Korean relations are normal. Such a reply is not very direct, but expresses China’s stance clearly enough.
However, recently there appear to be some subtle changes. China’s Defense Minister Liang Guanglie paid a five-day official visit to North Korea starting Nov. 22. According to a report on the website of Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV – considered a mouthpiece similar to the state-run China Central Television – Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency stated that Liang and Kim Yong Chun, vice marshal of the Korean People’s Army, swore that the two countries would enhance their mutual military alliance. Liang said that bilateral military relations were sealed in blood – referring to China’s participation in and support for North Korea in the Korean War – and their unity was unbreakable.
The Singapore-based newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported the statement about friendship sealed in blood but not the part about enhancing the military alliance. China’s official Xinhua News Agency covered this story in very general terms, saying China would work with its North Korean comrades toward a beautiful future for the two countries as well as regional and global peace and stability.
What is thought-provoking is that the coverage on the Phoenix TV website was deleted less than one day after publication.
If the KCNA story is true, it suggests a subtle shift in China’s position under the unresolved nuclear issue. But it seems it is not sufficient for China to publicly endorse this alliance again. In fact, just a few days before Liang’s trip to North Korea Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, in a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, reiterated China’s policy of not making alliances with any country or group of countries.
Although Wen’s statement was intended as a rejection of the so-called “G2” – referring to China and the United States – it also demonstrated that Wen, like previous Chinese leaders, placed little importance on China’s alliance with North Korea. Of course, the different statements by Liang and Wen reflected differences in opinion between the army and the government, which is a common phenomenon in any country.
Whatever the current government policy, it is worth considering whether or not China should keep its military alliance with North Korea and whether this relationship will help or harm the resolution of the nuclear issue and China’s overall strategy.
In my opinion, China should retain its military alliance with North Korea. Some may resist such a stance due to their dislike of North Korea’s system. However, international politics should not involve “feelings.” Besides, even from the standpoint of morality and justice, keeping the alliance could be more beneficial to the improvement of North Korea’s domestic situation.
Why? Let’s look at the root of the nuclear issue on the peninsula. As a poor, small country, North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons seems to be crazy. But behind this craziness is rational thinking – that is, deep concerns about the country’s security.
When former U.S. President George W. Bush was in office, he named North Korea as part of an “axis of evil” and said it was a possible target of a preemptive attack from the United States. The U.S. attack on Iraq showed that the United States was not joking. So, realizing that his country’s conventional forces were large but backward, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il decided he could depend only on nuclear weapons to defend his country.
If the Sino-North Korean alliance was still effective North Korea would have no such worries. But since the Cold War ended, China has turned a cold shoulder toward the North out of its desire to develop relations with South Korea.
China’s neglect of this alliance pushed North Korea to an impasse, in which it saw no solution but nuclear weapons. Only when North Korea’s security concerns are relieved by China’s promise of protection can the nuclear issue on the peninsula be completely resolved. Until that time North Korea cannot possibly accomplish the reforms and openness China wishes and finally better its domestic situation.
Very importantly, maintaining an alliance with North Korea doesn’t mean indulging it. Another article in the friendship treaty demands that both sides consult each other on all critical international issues concerning the mutual interests of the two.
So if North Korea goes its own way in developing nuclear weapons, it shows its unwillingness to consult China and take its interests into account. In that situation China has rights and obligations under the treaty. If North Korea fails to uphold its treaty obligations, China has no obligation to ensure its security.
But in handling the situation so far, China has neither stated clearly its guarantee of military aid nor has it imposed adequate pressure on North Korea to fulfill its treaty obligations. Instead it has led North Korea to feel that China is an untrustworthy ally. North Korea’s attitude in seeking to deal directly with the United States in fact reveals that it has lost faith in the six-party talks led by China.
The lesson to be learned from this experience with the six-party talks is that China should rethink its policy toward North Korea. It should consider effectively using this alliance in order to turn it into a “strategic asset” rather than a “strategic burden.”
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(Li Kaisheng teaches international relations at Xiangtan University in Xiangtan city, Hunan province, China. He holds a doctorate in law. This article is translated and edited from the Chinese by UPI Asia.com; the original may be found at http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4e20bb500100gd08.html ©Copyright Li Kaisheng.)
