Is there something going on in the Taiwan Strait? Is there something going on in South Korea? | morning paper

Source: Taiwan’s “United Daily News”

united newspaper editorial

U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yue held a summit a few days ago, focusing on North Korea’s nuclear weapons issue. After the meeting, they issued the “Washington Declaration.” The United States expanded its nuclear umbrella to South Korea in exchange for South Korea’s abandonment of nuclear weapons. Biden threatened that if North Korea uses nuclear weapons against the United States or its allies, it will lead to the collapse of the regime. Biden’s ruthless words are more consoling to South Korea than intimidating North Korea. After 40 years, the United States once again deployed its nuclear submarine to the South Korean military port, which means that the nuclear competition on the Korean Peninsula and the security situation in East Asia have risen.

North Korea announced in 2018 that it had completed testing a nuclear bomb and an intercontinental ballistic missile, and continues to launch a variety of ballistic missiles. In September last year, the “Nuclear Force Policy Act” was promulgated, stipulating that North Korea may preemptively launch a nuclear attack or carry out nuclear retaliation. More importantly, North Korea has not only returned to the path of nuclear weapons and economic development through legislative actions, declared itself a nuclear-armed country, and continued to improve its nuclear and missile capabilities, trying to change the rules of the geopolitical game.

This move, of course, caused uneasiness in South Korea and tension in the region. Every time North Korea launches a missile, it affects South Korea’s sensitive nerves. In January, Yoon Xiyue made a rare statement that if the North Korean threat intensifies, South Korea should build its own nuclear weapons or deploy tactical nuclear weapons in its territory. Although the opposition party condemned Yin Xiyue’s statement as unrealistic, Yin Xiyue later clarified that South Korea’s policy of complying with the “Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty” remains unchanged; The public supports independent development or deployment of nuclear weapons.

There are also many public opinions that Yin Xiyue’s speech is an opportunity to ask Beijing to manage Pyongyang well, or as a bargaining chip to ask Biden for a price. In fact, before Yin Xiyue’s visit to the United States, he tried hard to express his position, made a lot of preparations, and also caused a lot of trouble. Yin Xiyue changed his usual position of not providing arms to countries in conflict, suggesting that he intends to provide military aid to Ukraine. This move immediately annoyed Moscow, warning that supplying weapons would mean getting involved in the conflict, and also retorted that it would provide weapons to North Korea. Yin Xiyue also changed the practice of not speaking on cross-strait issues in the past, pointing out that the Taiwan Strait issue is a global issue like North Korea, and opposes force to change the status quo. This angered Beijing even more. Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang severely criticized “those who play with fire must set themselves on fire”, sparking a diplomatic war of words between the two sides.

Last August, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Pelosi visited Taiwan, bringing about the fourth Taiwan Strait crisis; but when Pelosi went to South Korea, she was treated coldly. Yin Xiyue did not see Pelosi on the grounds of “summer vacation”, and later said that it was “out of national interest” considerations. Now he stands in line to express his position, which is also a realistic consideration. Yin Xiyue said that the issue of the Taiwan Strait is not limited to cross-strait issues, but a global issue; South Korea also hopes that the North Korean nuclear issue will receive global attention, not just a regional threat, but China is passive in the face of North Korea’s intensified nuclear threat.

Yin Xiyue does not hesitate to provoke China and Russia, but when facing the United States and Japan, she keeps a low profile. In order to win Japan’s joint fight against North Korea, Yin Xiyue even violated 60% of the domestic opposition public opinion, put aside the historical controversies such as comfort women and labor recruitment that made the relationship between South Korea and Japan entangled, and emphasized that it is unacceptable to demand that Japan for the history of 100 years ago. kneel. Regarding the US Department of Defense’s leak of confidential documents revealing the spying on the South Korean government, the South Korean President’s Office clarified more vigorously than the United States; Yin Xiyue, who couldn’t hide his embarrassment, also told the US media that this incident will not shake the high level of trust on which the US-South Korea relationship is based.

From the development of nuclear weapons, the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Taiwan Strait issue to the relations between South Korea and Japan, Yin Xiyue took advantage of several major issues to win an expanded and clear nuclear umbrella from the United States. However, this means that international efforts to curb North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons in the past three decades have all failed. Although the United States still does not allow South Korea to possess nuclear weapons, the escalation of North Korea’s nuclear threat and regional tensions may be inevitable, which will affect India, including the Taiwan Strait. Too strategic situation. Is it wise for Yin Xiyue to strive for the US-Japan-South Korea alliance, but push China and Russia further toward North Korea? As soon as the “Washington Declaration” of the United States and South Korea came out, North Korea began to criticize that it brought more serious dangers. Russia also accused it of undermining regional security and global stability.

However, is there something going on in the Taiwan Strait, is there something going on in South Korea? Yin Xiyue once said that the South Korea-US alliance should give priority to North Korea!