When it comes to North Korea, China is happy to make Trump squirm

The sixth and latest nuclear test by North Korea on September 3 has once again put the spotlight on China. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly asked China to do more to rein in the nuclear weapons and missile development by its neighbour and treaty ally, but to no avail.

In fact, China may have already lost most of its direct influence on North Korea through past unsuccessful attempts to control the rogue state’s behaviour. It does still have more leverage on its neighbour than any other country because it supplies most of the oil to North Korea, which in turn fuels Kim Jong-un’s military and industrial machinery.

But China is unlikely to completely cut off crude and refined oil supplies to its troublesome ally. This is because it believes it is unlikely that North Korea would give up its nuclear weapons and delivery systems any time soon.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) leaders in China this week that the North Koreans would “rather eat grass than give up their nuclear program”. This echoes former Pakistani leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, whose country defied international sanctions to develop its own nuclear weapons.

The Chinese and Russians now believe it would be almost impossible to disarm North Korea of its nuclear weapons without a comprehensive settlement with the US.
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Chinese jets intercept US radiation-sniffing plane in East China sea: WH

China denied US accusations that its jets conducted an unprofessional intercept of an American radiation-sniffing surveillance plane in the East China Sea and urged Washington to stop such activities.

The two Chinese SU-30 jets on Wednesday approached a WC- 135 Constant Phoenix aircraft a modified Boeing C-135 conducting a routine mission in international airspace in accordance with international law, Pacific Air Forces spokeswoman Lt Col Lori Hodge said in a statement.

The WC-135 crew characterised the intercept as unprofessional "due to the manoeuvres by the Chinese pilot, as well as the speeds and proximity of both aircraft," Hodge said.

She declined to provide further details and said the issue would be addressed with China through "appropriate diplomatic and military channels."

"We would rather discuss it privately with China," Hodge said in an email to The Associated Press. "This will allow us to continue building confidence with our Chinese counterparts on expected manoeuvring to avoid mishaps."

In China, Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said the American plane was conducting surveillance over the Yellow Sea the northern part of the East China Sea and that the Chinese jets moved to identify and verify the plane "in accordance with laws and regulations."

In a statement on the ministry's website, Wu said the operation was "professional and safe." Wu blamed surveillance by US planes and vessels as the "root cause of military security problems concerning sea and air" between the two countries and urged the US to stop such activities.
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