The South Korean artillery and air force immediately struck back and declared their intention to attack North Korea’s missile bases if necessary. Undaunted, the U.S. and South Korea announced that they would hold large-scale joint military exercises in the Yellow Sea. War clouds are once again gathering over the Korean Peninsula.
But now the catch: the attack had to have had the approval of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). And from a practical perspective, it had to have had the backing and support of the CCP. Here’s why:
First, contrary to the world’s collective denunciation of North Korea, the CCP openly cheers the country. The Chinese regime called on both sides to cool down and, questionably, placed no blame directly on Pyongyang. The CCP also signed an Economic Partnership Agreement with North Korea the day of the attack took place.
Moreover, the Chinese Ministry of Health delegation did not cancel its trip to Pyongyang, and was greeted with a VIP reception upon arrival. The gift-giving ceremony went on as planned, with DVD copies of the TV series on Mao Anying (Mao Zedong’s eldest son who died in the Korean War), highlighting their “friendship bound by fresh blood.”
Historically, the CCP has always been at ease bolstering and supporting North Korea, both openly and behind the scenes. During the Cheonan incident, where North Korea sank a Korean ship, the CCP repeatedly refused to listen to an international investigative report that concluded that the North was responsible. This should not seem strange, because the CCP already knew everything and had no need to see the report.
Let’s consider the royal treatment Kim Jong-il received in China: Is it not obvious that he was being “thanked” for services rendered? Compared to the international media’s efforts to carefully search out all sides of the story and analyze the evidence, the CCP’s high-profile moves reveal its peremptory attitude of, “What are you going to do about it if I’m the father of the neighborhood thug?”
The Cover Up
Second, since North Korea’s attack indeed seems a bit too irrational, the CCP has to try really hard this time to smooth things over. Its state run media made up a term it calls, “The dispute over sovereignty and crab.”
This comical phrase relates to a putative territorial dispute that goes back 50 years.
When the Korean War ended in July 1953, South and North Korea signed an armistice negotiation. The U.S. and South Korea defined the Northern Limits Line (NLL) as the maritime boundary, and North Korea had been quiet about it for over 20 years. When a dialogue began in 1972, however, North Korea used the cover of negotiations to secretly dig tunnels in preparation for an invasion, therefore violating the armistice treaty. A military conflict broke out at the terrestrial military demarcation line in 1976 and consequently a “cement line” was built afterward. North Korea also asserted its own marine demarcation, which is located south of the NLL, to challenge the NLL.
On the map, the NLL follows international conventions and connects islands including Baengnyeong, Daecheong, Yeonpyeong and other South Korean islands. However, North Korea’s version of marine demarcation is irrational—it not only greatly goes beyond South Korea’s islands, but also forces South Korea to access these islands via narrow L-shaped waterways. It was North Korea that came up with the “disputed” overlapping seas, including the Yeonpyeong-Island-area seas. The water is rich with crabs, and hence the CCP twisted the reference, calling it, “The dispute over sovereignty and crab.”
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Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
