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A nuclear-powered threat

Published: 28 Mar. 2007, 21:42

China is reportedly working to build a super-sized nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. We take note of this because this issue is about more than China enhancing its naval forces.
The moment China has a nuclear-powered carrier, its strategic status will change. That will certainly affect the world order, which currently has the United States at the center, as well as the regional order in Northeast Asia, including the Korean Peninsula.
China’s nuclear-powered carrier will pose a threat to the defense line drawn by the United States and Japan, which runs from Japan’s coastlines to Taiwan and the Philippines. This will pose a serious threat to Korea because it has coasts on three sides.
The worst-case scenario would be that China could block ocean routes. This is more than a security issue ― it could threaten our very survival, since we are entirely dependent on sea routes for the transfer of energy and products.
The order in Northeast Asia is rapidly changing.
Thanks to its economic power, China is rapidly enhancing its military power, and Japan is also working hard to become a military superpower. China and Russia are strengthening their strategic alliance. China and Japan are also approaching each other for practical benefits.
Most of all, the relations between North Korea and the United States have been changing in a way that defies imagination.
As Korea is sandwiched in the region, our only choice is to cling to our alliance with the United States, which has no ambition to broaden its territory.
An ancient Chinese strategy is to normalize relations with countries that are far away and to attack those nearby.
However, South Korea-U.S. relations have weakened seriously over the past years. In light of the United States’ new strategies toward the world and new policies on North Korea, many may demand the alliance be changed as well.
Some claim that we should find a way for survival through improving inter-Korean relations, but it is hard to uncover North Korea’s true intentions.
We need to respond properly to the changes in the current situation; specifically China’s attempts to build an aircraft carrier.
However, the government does not seem to think seriously about this important issue on which the destiny of our country depends. The same can be said of the presidential hopefuls.
The government and the political circle must reflect seriously upon the reality that we are now facing and should work together to improve the situation. The people who survive are the ones who can see the future.