Can the U.S. contain China?
The Foreign Policy Initiative calls for a rethink of U.S. policy toward China. Among their recommendations is to ramp up arms sales to China's neighbors and harangue China "in every available forum at every available opportunity" about its human rights record. Then they suggest:
Seek solutions to major international issues without China. Though the P5+1 and Six Party Talks were, conceptually, an innovative method to deal with Iran and North Korea; in practice, they have served as another mechanism by which Russia and China continue to resist efforts to compel their client states. Instead, the United States, in concert with its democratic allies, should seek other avenues to impair these regimesâ?? capabilities.
This is something I'd love to see fleshed out more. How, exactly, does the U.S. find a "solution" to North Korea that does not involve China? According to my map, the two countries share a border and China is North Korea's major trading partner.
(AP Photo)
