Posted on 05/05/2018 4:53:11 AM PDT by Eddie01
In a landmark telephone conversation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday agreed to closely cooperate in resolving the North Korean nuclear and missile issues and confirmed the importance of U.N. sanctions against the North to achieve that goal.
In the first telephone talks ever between a Japanese prime minister and Chinese president — demonstrating the rapidly warming ties between Asia’s two biggest powers — Abe and Xi welcomed the recent commitment by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in toward a “complete” denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
The two leaders also agreed to cooperate on resolving the abduction issue, a senior government official said.
Xi’s promise to help resolve the long-stalled issue, which involves Japanese abducted in the 1970s and 1980s, is positive news for Abe amid concerns Japan is being left behind by the five-way surge in diplomatic activity. Abe has said the issue is one of his top priorities.
In Washington the same day, the abductees’ kin called for support as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to meet with Kim.
The request was made at a meeting with Matt Pottinger, senior director for Asian affairs at the U.S. National Security Council. The U.S. fully understands that all the abductees must be brought home, Pottinger said, adding Washington will work on the issue.
[snip]
The times they are a changin'
China wants N. Korea as a buffer state, much as the USSR wanted E. Germany.
But whereas it took the collapse of the USSR to free E. Germany, I don’t think China’s going to collapse any time soon.
“I don’t think China’s going to collapse any time soon.”
Neither was the Soviet Union.
Behold the power of Trump!
“But whereas it took the collapse of the USSR to free E. Germany, I don’t think China’s going to collapse any time soon.”
It’s my guess that there won’t be a collapse of China nor NK. More likely there will be a gradual opening of NK with trade and economies, travel back and forth across borders, social aspects such as movies, sports, information, social media, etc. if this evolution actually transpires it probably won’t matter much whether or not the two countries officially join.
Xi is acting in China’s self interest, but I hope Abe totally realizes what that interest is and therefor why he is trying to flatter Abe with diplomacy over North Korea.
Xi wants an Asia with no one to challenge China.
If North Korea keeps it’s nuclear arms program, Xi knows that means that eventually South Korea and Japan are likely to develop EQUAL defenses, in both type of arms and missiles. That is the last thing Xi wants to see happen.
But in the end, watch out South Korea and Japan. Xi is maneuvering everyone, including Trump, to return China to its imperial days when every Asian nation knew it either cooperated with China’s emperors, or else.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.