A few blog posts back, I wrote about the strength of China. China is becoming incredibly powerful. In this day and age of the ’survival’ of the fittest, China is winning hands down. But what comes with that is a massive responsibility.
Two political regimes are continuing to cause havoc; Burma and North Korea. Burma is blatantly trumping up charges against opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, trying to ensure that she does not take part in elections to be held next year. They know she will win and they have to do something to ensure that she does not take part. Her home detention expires today, and they have no legal reason to detain her, so a trumped up charge must be created in order to maintain the status quo. International condemnation does little to Burma, if nothing at all.
Then there is North Korea. They have today declared that they have ‘torn up the truce’ between themselves and South Korea, effectively declaring a resumption to hostilities that ended in 1953. They have tested missiles and are ready to get nasty. Not a good situation.
This is where China has all the cards. I have said many times that only China can wield a big stick with Burma and with North Korea. They have condemned North Korea in the strongest terms, but not Burma. China has too many political prisoners of its own to preach to another country about theirs. So Burma will continue to be treated with kid gloves. Aung San Suu Kyi must hold out hope that the junta wake up on the right side of the bed on the day of the verdict and set her free. Unfortunately that is unlikely.
But China is showing some signs that they have had enough of North Korea. Why this change of heart toward a staunch ally and friend? Well, North Korea is ‘pushing the friendship’ and this is why China has had enough.
North Korea’s latest nuclear test raises the question of just how long the bonds forged between old communist allies will endure.
North Korea are messing about just outside the Chinese border, miles away from Pyongyang. In choosing that particular area, the North Korean regime feels the need to sabre rattle even in the face of its friends. China is one of North Korea’s only friends, if not its only one, and the worst thing you can do is bite the hand that feeds you. They are the naughty kid in the family, and China has cut them a lot of slack. But now China feels that North Korea is ungrateful, not to mention reckless.
“The Chinese side vehemently demands North Korea abides by its denuclearisation promises, stop any actions which may worsen the situation and return to the six-party talks process.
The reaction to North Korea has only been so strong because it threatens China. If the tantrum by the North Korean regime was directed toward South Korea or Japan or anyone else in North Asia, I don’t think China would care. But it is so close to home, they are worried about the effect it will have on them.
The only way Burma will receive the same treatment is if the Burmese do something to offend China, or threaten its borders and its people. At the moment, none of that has happened. To the Chinese government, the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi will result in her possibly going to prison. It will effect her and her alone. The people will continue to be oppressed, but so do a lot of Chinese. In many ways, all Chinese live under some form of oppression, to varying degrees. If the Burmese regime stopped deals worth millions to China, we may see China get heavy handed. But it will take something of that magnitude to get China to act. Face it, it took North Korea to test a nuclear weapon on China’s doorstep for China to even think of acting.
What more can the international community do? This is a question I have posed too many times. I don’t have an answer. No one does. It is up to China, and with China coming to any table around the world as the strongest player, there is little we as the rest of the world can do to sway them to our way of thinking.
Enjoy your day
