Coordination will stave off another Korean War
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Will the Korean Peninsula situation end up in war or with reconciliation? The answer lies with the two Koreas as well as China and the US.
Sixty years ago, the US and China fought a bloody war on the Korean Peninsula. That war not only fixed the border between North and South Korea, it also determined the situation on the peninsula and the responsibilities of China and the US.
The treaties signed by China with North Korea and by the US with South Korea mean that, once war breaks out, each of them is obliged to provide military support to its treaty partner.
The US-South Korea treaty also granted the US the right to deploy land, air and marine forces on South Korean territory and in surrounding areas. The US was able to ship an arsenal of weapons to South Korea, establish a "Korea-US Combined Forces Command" in Seoul, and take control of South Korea's defenses.
The existence of these treaties suggests that, if another Korean War breaks out, China and the US are likely to be dragged in. But, in the eyes of the world, if the US and China are able to exert control, then the Korean Peninsula will not have to endure another war.
China and the US cannot decide the fate of Koreans, but they are able to stop a bloody war.
Since they had no other option, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army went to war in North Korea in the 1950s. Sixty years on, China is not willing to tolerate a bloody war in a neighboring country in which it would have to get involved. Whatever strategic plan the US has concocted for Asia, I doubt it will be so short-sighted as to support a war close to China like 60 years ago.
As long as the US and China do not want to fight, neither North Korea nor South Korea dares to provoke a war. Since neither China nor the US wants war, they have every reason to strengthen their coordination.
The US should be aware that strengthening military alliances exclusively with Japan and South Korea will not solve the problem nor foster peace on the Korean Peninsula.
It is short-sighted to depend on its military power to maintain its position in Asia. Such a policy is bound to fail.
