In 2000, the United States was evidently at the apogee of its power, exercising an unparalleled ascendancy around the globe. Yet, in the face of perhaps the most profound and volatile sea-changes the world has ever seen, the policy-makers in Washington have failed to develop core concepts relevant to the emerging realities. Victory in the Cold War has made the United States satisfy with the status quo and lead to smugness as well. It is true of America’s diplomacy today.
On January 16, the United States co-hosted with Canada a foreign ministers’ international meeting in Vancouver on security and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) crisis. James Mattis and HarjitSajjan attended this meeting along with foreign ministers from 20 countries. This is simply normal since as sovereign states they have right to invite whoever is seen properly. Yet, this time the co-hosts only invited the countries that were members of the UN coalition during the Korean War (1950-1953) while the key players, namely the DPRK, China, and Russia, were conspicuous by their absence. It is reported that Canada did invite both China and Russia to the meeting, but only at the last minute to send the invitation which was not for the meeting itself but for the post-meeting briefing once the main sessions were over to merely notify both China and Russia of the meeting’s agreements.
What a ridiculous protocol in foreign affairs. Both the United States and Canada like to treat China and Russia as the defeated powers after a world war.
Chinese foreign minister’s spokesman reiterated that China’s position is clear and consistent. Since the nature of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue is one of security, both China and Russia have strongly and permanently committed to achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, maintaining peace and stability on the Peninsula, and peacefully and properly resolving the issue through dialogue and consultation. However, it is self-evident that UN Command, as a product of the Cold War era, has long lost its relevance. As initiators of the meeting, the US and Canada co-hosted the meeting under the banner of the so-called UN Command sending states. That is Cold War mentality pure and simple, and will only drive a wedge among the international community and undermine the concerted efforts to seek proper settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.
China argues that when major parties to the Korean Peninsula issue are not present, such a meeting will not contribute to properly resolving the issue, as it shall be approached and addressed mainly through the framework of the Six-Party Talks and the UN Security Council. That is why, from the very beginning, the legality and representativeness of this meeting is extensively questioned by theinternational community. In effect, China and Russia have worked dedicatedly to address the legitimate security concerns of all parties in a fair and transparent way through dialogue,including the dual-track approach and suspension-for-suspension proposal. Although it is not accepted by the United States, China always welcomes the positive move such as the DPRK and the ROK gradually resuming dialogues and contacts in light of situation on the Korean Peninsula remaining complicated and sensitive. It also argues that all parties should cherish the hard-won momentum of easing tension on the Peninsula and of promoting the inter-Koreas’ dialogues.Otherwise, coercive diplomacy and isolation alone are counterproductive.
True, both Canada and the United States argued, it is still too earlier to invite the DPRK to the meeting since there is the lack of mutual trust among all the parties concerned. Yet, both China and Russia insist that diplomacy is a process of continuous negotiations, steady persuasion and mutual compromises if necessary. As two great powers having the leverages in terms of nuclear capabilities and the veto power in the UN, China and Russia simply refused to present them at the meeting with no full consultation and cooperation. Clearly, it is impossible to effectively settle down the global issues if any country calculates to only further alienate and infuriate two great nuclear powers. Given this, China and Russia have warned against a return to “Cold War mentality”.
Recently, Chinese FM Wang Yi expressed more the official line, that is, the inter-Koreas dialogue before the Olympic Game is worth being cherished by all. Due to this, it is the time to test sincerity of all parties. The international community should keep its eyes wide open to see who is a promoter of the peaceful settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and who will become a saboteur that causes a return to tensions of the situation.Appendix:
As China and Russia have indicated, a UN institutional framework or a resumption of the Six-Party Talks is more conducive to coming up with a solution that will satisfy all parties involved.This is what China and Russia are aiming for. Since the roles of China and Russia remain capital, the good faith of all parties (especially of the US) is mandatory to kick-start another round of talks (using an open and positive mindset) that may lead to fruitful results.