To Advance North Korean Denuclearization: Try Some “Cuban Missile Crisis” Pressure on China

The intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 is seen during its test in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang, July 5 2017. KCNA/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD
September 10, 2018 Topic: Security Region: Asia Blog Brand: The Buzz Tags: ChinaTaiwanProliferationNorth KoreaCuban Missile Crisis

To Advance North Korean Denuclearization: Try Some “Cuban Missile Crisis” Pressure on China

"At a minimum, China must be told that America will view a North Korean nuclear attack as a Chinese-origin nuclear attack."

by Richard D. Fisher Jr.
 

There are plenty of instances in America's history when the hope that an evil would pass only served to enable the emergence of a more powerful threat. The Cuban Missile Crisis was not one of them. More than his predecessor President Trump has stood up to China, but that job is just beginning as it is now time to compel China to retrieve its missile technology support given to Pyongyang. Should China refuse then, it will have proven again its capacity to threaten freedom, and that it is time for Washington to redeploy a sizable U.S. tactical nuclear deterrent to Asia. At a minimum, China must be told that America will view a North Korean nuclear attack as a Chinese-origin nuclear attack.

Richard D. Fisher, Jr. is a senior fellow with the International Assessment and Strategy Center and author of China’s Military Modernization, Building for Regional and Global Reach, Stanford University Press, 2010.

 

Image: Reuters