Beijing warns on peninsula woes: Not ‘at our doorstep’

Ministries say talks are more powerful than arms, urge all sides to negotiate

China expects parties involved in the ongoing tensions on the Korean Peninsula to make rational and sensible choices and won’t allow anyone to make trouble its doorstep, the Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

“The current tensions are not screenplays or computer games, but an actual incident that determines the safety of the peoples on the peninsula and the peace in the entire region,” Hua Chunying said at a news briefing in Beijing.

She said China insists that sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea must be carried out within the framework of resolutions adopted by the United Nations Security Council. China strongly opposes the “long-arm jurisdiction” through which some countries want to use their domestic laws on the entities or individuals of another country.

“Previous experiences have shown that problems would not be completely solved if the international community depended only on pressure and sanctions,” Hua said.

Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, also said on Thursday that China does not think military means should be an option for the peninsula, calling for calm and restraint to avoid escalations.

He said the military will never allow anyone to make trouble “at our doorstep” and will not tolerate armed conflict or chaos on the peninsula.

Hua said that the fundamental reason behind the complicated problems on the peninsula lies in the lack of trust between the DPRK and the United States, and the lack of trust between the DPRK and the Republic of Korea. Only through dialogue to address their security concerns could these nations find solutions to peacefully resolve problems, she said.

China has proposed the “dual suspension” approach — that Pyongyang halts its nuclear and missile activities while Washington and Seoul cease their massive military drills — to break the deadlock.

“The pity is that some nations have been deliberately ignoring the UN’s requirement on dialogue, keeping their eyes on pressure and sanctions. They make trouble and jeopardize China’s efforts on dialogue and peaceful solutions and when tensions arise, and they pass the buck and blame others,” Hua said. “Such behaviors are destructive to addressing the Korean Peninsula issues.”

The DPRK fired an intermediate-range missile that flew over Japan on Tuesday. It said on Wednesday the launch was a first step to military action to “contain” the US territory of Guam after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that “all options are on the table”.

China does not think military means should be an option for the peninsula.” Ren Guoqiang, senior colonel of the Defense Ministry