Daily Times

Sir: It started almost six months ago, when the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke in Hanoi in July and aligned the US firmly with South East Asia’s approach to overlapping claims in the South China Sea. She said: “The US supports a collaborative diplomatic process by all claimants for resolving the various territorial disputes without coercion. We oppose the use or threat of force by any claimant.” In response, China described the South China Sea as a “core interest”, complained of “encirclement” and lambasted unwarranted interference by the US in matters that do not concern it. From there started a change of tone in the relations between the two powers engaged for years in competing with each other for influence. But the US never stopped intervening in the matter and also continued activities of its military vessels in China’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The ultimate outcome is what was most expected and what is happening these days in the South East and north east Asia regions, whose latest manifestation is North and South Korea tensions. China is a lot more involved and in control behind the attacks by North Korea on South Korea than we think. North Korea has, as a legacy of the Cold War, remained the buffer between the capitalist West and communist East. China is using it to show its power in the region and to signal to the US to stay back in its barracks and remain more concerned about its issues instead of interfering here and there. There are three likely scenarios. Most probably, life will go on as usual, just like previous confrontations. Second, the current tensions between the two Koreas can evolve into an all-out military confrontation, although the results of past confrontations show that South Korea has limited options. Third, it can develop into confrontation leading to a peaceful settlement.

ASIYA MAHAR
Islamabad