On August 27, 2013, Major General Wang Haiyu, a senior advisor at the China Institute for International Strategic Studies, published a commentary on Huanqiu on establishing strategic buffer zones around China.
On North Korea, Wang stated that, compared to the time of the Korean War, North Korea’s military value to China has greatly decreased, while its geo-strategic value remains. China should “not only strive to maintain stability in the peninsula … and urge North Korea to completely abandon its nuclear program. … It should also firmly stop any attempt by external forces to create chaos on the peninsula.”
In addition to North Korea, China should establish a strategic buffer zone to the west of China. When its dignity is challenged, China should “dare to impose necessary ‘discipline’ and should not continue to tolerate the ‘small country bullying a large country’ phenomenon. Otherwise, China cannot successfully build strategic buffer zones needed for safeguarding its national geopolitical security.”
Source: Huanqiu, August 27, 2013
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/opinion_world/2013-08/4288662.html