By Sunny Lee
BEIJING — China failed to fulfill its political commitment and military obligation to North Korea, which pushed Pyongyang to seek its own means of nuclear deterrence that have now become a grave security concern in the region, said Shen Dingli, a security expert at Fudan University in Shanghai.
“We claim to be a responsible stakeholder, but we have not been properly responsible with regard to North Korea,” Shen said in an interview.
Pyongyang and Beijing, the two former Communist bloc members, have what is known as a “blood alliance,” fighting together during the 1950-53 Korean War against the U.S. and South Korea. The duo also signed a rare treaty in 1961, which was seen as a very special one that would solidify their commitment to mutual defense, including automatically sending troops if one of them was attacked by a third country. China signed only two such treaties, the other being with the Soviet Union.
But over the years, the Sino-North Korean “blood alliance” has lost its steam and some Chinese scholars even argued for scrapping the pact and treating North Korea as a “normal” country.
According to Choi Myeong-hae, a Sino-North Korean relations expert at the Samsung Economic Research Institute, North Korea doubts China’s true commitment to the alliance.
Shen sees Beijing’s ambivalent attitude as the beginning of China’s steps that caused North Korea to feel the Middle Kingdom was no longer a reliable partner, and seek its own means of deterrence. Pyongyang also sees the nuclear weapons as the “ultimate deterrence” as pundits often point out no nuclear-armed country has ever been attacked by the United States, which the North sees as its primary enemy.
“Beijing did not reaffirm its military alliance with Pyongyang. That scared North Korea. We should have told everyone that China has a live military alliance with North Korea and China is a responsible country that will not abandon its military obligations to North Korea,” said Shen.
“We should also make it clear that if anyone attacks the North, we will retaliate against attacker. In that way, we can assure it ‘we will protect you and therefore you should not develop nuclear weapons.’”
Shen sees the United States as setting a good example of displaying a robust military alliance with its Asian allies, including South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, fully committing to their protection. (China regards Taiwan as a renegade province that must be reunited. During the interview, Shen himself also didn't call Taiwan as a ``country.'') Importantly, the U.S. has also successfully dissuaded the trio from pursuing nuclear weapons programs.
Last year, the United States dispatched a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to South Korea when inter-Korean tension skyrocketed due the North’s two fatal attacks on the South, in a show of resolve and solidarity.
“The U.S. commits militarily to Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. But China doesn’t do so toward North Korea,” said Shen. Uncertain about Beijing’s military commitment, Pyongyang became more desperate in its pursuit of nuclear weapons, he said. “In fact, we drove North Koreans to inch toward developing nukes. So, looking back on it, China’s policy on North Korea turned out to be counterproductive.”
Shen argues that China should at least now make it clear that its defense treaty “has not died.” At a more fundamental level, he sees that China shouldn’t be ashamed of having a special relationship with North Korea.
“A responsible stakeholder should tell everybody that Beijing-Pyongyang military alliance is not dead. But we told everybody that we wanted to have a normal relationship with North Korea. That was wrong. We have a treaty-bound relationship. That means our relationship with the North is not normal.”
“A ‘normal’ state-to-state relationship is a relationship without a military alliance. South Korea doesn’t feel shame in having a special relationship with the United States. It makes South Korea safe and secure. But China feels shy about affirming its special relationship with North Korea publicly, as if we did something wrong. We need to change this mentality. For Beijing to protect Pyongyang is nothing to be ashamed of,” said Shen.
By reaffirming its robust political ties and military commitment to North Korea, Shen believes China can also establish authority to counsel it. “When North Korea shelled the South Korean Yeonpyeong Island, China said nothing. China should have condemned North Korea. That’s a shameful relationship. If we firmly protect North Korea, then we can tell North Korea not to harm South Korea,” said Shen.