Post-Cheonan dilemma: how to deal with China

By Sunny Lee, Korea Times correspondent PARIS — China’s playing the staunch guardian role for North Korea in response to the Cheonan incident greatly antagonized South Koreans. Some of them saw it as a defining moment, revealing the true nature of the giant neighbor that failed to measure up to be a responsible global stakeholder.

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Guy Sorman observes that the episode also left Seoul with a task of how to deal with the increasingly assertive and domineering superpower in the future. He yet adds that the problem of how to handle China is a global problem today. The Western construct that China is an “irresponsible superpower” has found a new market in South Korea, which saw China shielding North Korea from the global outrage over the Cheonan incident. More...

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