People’s Daily held a Powerful Nation Forum discussing North Korea’s recent nuclear test. One post discussed how China is actually a beneficiary of North Korea’s nuclear test. The test helped China in the following three ways:
1) It reduced the pressure from Japan in the Southwest. Japan is prepared to fight to the end with China in a military arms race on the Diaoyu Islands issue. In this critical situation, China has been pushed into a corner and has no room to maneuver. North Korea’s (nuclear test) provided China such some space to maneuver! However, if Japan continues its willful course, there will still be no solution to the Diaoyu Islands issue for China!
2) It shifted some of the U.S.’s attention away (from China). Up to today, China has always been in a defensive counterattack position (against the U.S.). In a sense, North Korea’s nuclear explosion has attracted some attention from the U.S. When the United States feels the threat (from North Korea), its first thought is to ask China to counterbalance North Korea. This way, it may give China a little bit of time and space to breath!
3) The only one in the neighborhood of North Korea without a voice is Russia! Is Russia trying to serve as a balance or is it weighing the pros and cons so as to achieve some sort of strategic purpose? Using the North Korean nuclear issue may also give Russia and China a rare opportunity to jointly deal with their relationship with the United States and its allies! In summary, China is not afraid of war! That North Korea has nuclear weapons may not be a disaster for China! China can fully leverage its power to play a political Taiji and let the United States know what it feels like to have pain!
Source: Powerful Nation Forum of People’s Daily, February 19, 2013 http://bbs1.people.com.cn/post/2/1/2/127016759.html