On February 17, 2013, Huanqiu (the Chinese edition of Global Times) published an editorial on the Chinese regime’s attitude toward North Korea in terms of its potential 4th and 5th nuclear tests to occur within this coming year. The article said that China should reduce aid to North Korea as a reaction to its third nuclear test. “Beijing should also tell Pyongyang that we will reduce our aid to them even further if they continue to fire rockets and conduct new nuclear tests.”

However, it continued, “China will still be North Korea’s friend. This is not a hypocritical statement. It means that China will not join forces with the United States, Japan, and South Korea to enforce a sea and land blockade of North Korea. China will oppose the UN Security Council if it tries to pass any resolution with a radical approach that might threaten the North Korean regime. China is against North Korea having nuclear weapons; but China will not make a 180 degree turn in its attitude towards North Korea.”

Source: Huanqiu, February 17, 2013
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2013-02/3645628.html

On February 13, 2013, China’s leftist website, Utopia, published an editorial titled, “Utopia Warmly Congratulates North Korea for the Success of Its Third Nuclear Test.” The article praised North Korea for “withstanding the pressure from the reactionary forces led by the United States and condemned “the evil international order maintained by the U.S. imperialists and their minions.”  The article further criticized the U.S. and the Western hostile capitalists for “trying to stifle the socialist causes in China and North Korea” and “forcing the traitor forces inside the Chinese Communist Party leadership to betray the Party and the people, a mistake similar to that made by the former Soviet Union.” According to the article, the nuclear tests in both China and North Korea were “great achievements in breaking through the imperialist’s policies of nuclear blackmail and containment.” The article said that the relationship between China and North Korea is interdependent, just like lips and teeth, and that China will continue to support North Korea no matter what happens.

However, many Chinese people, especially those in the three northeastern provinces next to North Korea, were worried about the nuclear pollution that North Korea’s nuclear test caused. They were very disappointed that the Chinese regime did not do anything to protect the Chinese residents except to issue an oral protest afterwards. In comparison, prior to the test, the Russian government evacuated those of their residents who were close to North Korea.

Source: Utopia, February 13, 2013
http://www.wyzxsd.com/article.php?id=3524
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/sy1-02142013144811.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/02/130214_leftist_support_korea.shtml

An annual multinational military exercise, with the code name Cobra Gold 2013, opened in Thailand on February 11. Regarding the objectives of the exercise, Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo, Director of the Navy Information Expert Committee, believes that the United States is hoping to cooperatively combat terrorism and to further its control of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by conducting military exercises with Thailand. Yin said, "The more important purpose of the exercise for the United States is to use Thailand to control the ASEAN countries. … (The U.S.) has maintained friendly military cooperation with Thailand. At the same time, it has ensured a strategic military foothold in the ASEAN region. Once an emergent event occurs in the region, it can proceed from Thailand and carry out a large-scale intervention in the entire ASEAN region.”