Search

Quick growth of Chinese economy heralded a shift in the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific. In recent years China’s growing assertiveness, manifested by growing military presence in South China Sea, has been perceived as a major security challenge by most of the countries in the region. This situation is not simply a result of the recent changes in economic and political situation in the country, but rather a manifestation of a long history of building economic and political ties in the region and materialization of Chinese ambitions. It seems that China is finally able to materialize its long-time political ambitions in the region. Other security challenges like the nuclear program of North Korea and changing political situation in Myanmar attested to the increasing uncertainty of security situation in Asia which affects the global geopolitical landscape. Change of power in the United States, and Election of Donald Trump as American president in November 2016 was a signal of another shift in the regional security situation. New president following the slogan “America First” launched a process of renegotiating existing security treaties with Asian allies and presented a mare aggressive stance on China which very soon turned into a serious trade conflict. This monograph illustrates different aspects of these complex power shifts and their influence on the current geopolitical situation in the region.

«If in the midst of difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune» [1, c. 63–91]. With the benefit of hindsight, by examining Donald Trump's tweets and drawing a parallel with relevant events in the recent North Korean Nuclear Crisis, this article hints on the possible connection between 1) Trump's political usage of Twitter, 2) the momentum nuclear disarmament initiatives such as the TPNW have gained, 3) and the crisis as a window of opportunity for the two previous points. «Если посреди трудностей мы всегда наготове воспользоваться преимуществом, мы можем выбраться из беды» [1, c. 63–91]. Задним числом, изучая твиты Дональда Трампа и проводя параллель с соответствующими событиями в недавнем северокорейском ядерном кризисе, эта статья намекает на возможную связь между 1) политическим использованием Трампом Твиттера, 2) полученным импульсом инициатив в области ядерного разоружения, таких как ДЗЯИ и 3) кризисом как окном возможностей для двух предыдущих пунктов.

China has had different reactions to North Korean nuclear provocations. When North Korea announced its withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and provoked the first nuclear crisis in 19931994, China responded relatively softly and preferred to remain a bystander. However, in 2003, when North Korea withdrew from the NPT and provoked a nuclear crisis again, China reacted quite differently. The country actively intervened to settle the crisis and cooperated with the international community. This research examines what factors have affected Chinas foreign-policy change toward the North Korean nuclear issue. This research argues that Chinas general foreign-policy change had affected Chinas attitude change toward the North Korean nuclear issue. Since the Tiananmen incident, China had maintained a passive attitude in international affairs, until the mid-1990s. However, Chinas attitude toward international affairs changed in the late 1990s. China started to resume its diplomatic relationship with the West and successful economic development gave China confidence in its comprehensive national power. While trying to limit U.S. influence in the Asian region, China has also tried to increase its influence in the region and involvement in international affairs. This precipitated change in Chinas attitude change in the North Korean nuclear issue. http://archive.org/details/chinasforeignpol1094527847 Major, Republic of Korea Air Force Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.