Washington Post Editorial: China's Korea crisis

Washington Post Editorial: China's Korea crisis
Copyright by The Washington Post
Monday, May 31, 2010
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/30/AR2010053003382.html


CHINA HAS BEEN treating its neighbors, and the world, to a demonstration of why its rising power is not necessarily to be welcomed. Though it has become undeniable that its neighbor and client, North Korea, committed an act of war by sinking a South Korean warship in March, Beijing continues to shield the loathsome regime of Kim Jong Il. An authoritative investigation by a multinational commission has produced fragments of the torpedo fired by the North's submarine, yet Chinese officials continue to pretend they don't know the facts of what happened. Their public statements are limited to empty calls for "restraint."

A visit last week to Beijing and Seoul by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton served, at least, to put China on the spot. Ms. Clinton rightly pressed the Chinese leadership to consider the commission's 400-page report. She spoke publicly about the need for "a strong but measured response" to the incident as well as cooperation on the future direction of North Korea, which some experts believe may be unraveling.

China's best response came Friday when Premier Wen Jiabao, on a visit to Seoul, reportedly told President Lee Myun-bak in a closed meeting that Beijing would not protect the North if it concluded that the North was responsible. South Korean officials took that as a hint that China might not oppose Mr. Lee's plan to seek a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the Kim regime. Yet China has offered no sign that it will take any action of its own to pressure the North, though it has far more leverage than any other country. Indeed, President Hu Jintao hosted Mr. Kim this month -- and probably committed to supply him with more aid -- even after the naval attack.

In the short term China's behavior has benefited the United States. Watching Beijing defend the indefensible probably helped the Japanese government settle a dispute with the Obama administration over a U.S. base on Okinawa. It has shown South Koreans as well as people throughout Asia why the United States remains an indispensable guarantor of security in the region.

Still, an end to the crisis between the Koreas will require a more responsible approach by China. Abstaining from a Security Council resolution is not enough; Beijing must act decisively to restrain Mr. Kim from further provocations. The events of the past week are a sign that China cannot prop up a criminal client state and also be regarded as benign in its growing power. Sooner rather than later, it will have a choice to make.