Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd on Tuesday applauded growing criticism in China of ally North Korea and called for US-China talks over the Korean peninsula’s tensions.
Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking former diplomat who has long studied Asia, said that North Korea “has gone from being a private debate to a very public debate” inside China since the latest crisis began several months ago.
“I’m surprised by how sort-of out there people are at the moment, ranging from, ‘Let’s dump North Korea as an ally’ to ‘How do we work with the South Koreans to exercise restraint?'” Rudd said on a visit to Washington.
“This is a very good thing from my perspective because it’s no longer regarded as simply a foundational element of Chinese foreign and security policy, that it’s North Korea right or wrong,” Rudd said.
Rudd, speaking at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that China appeared to be concerned that closer defense cooperation by US-friendly nations in response to North Korea would ultimately impede Beijing’s interests.
Rudd said that China’s communist leadership has also increasingly moderated its tone after decades of strident opposition to foreign interference in nations’ affairs.
“China wants to be respected in the world — not just being a big great power but being a respected great power. This has sunk into the Chinese foreign policy psychology,” Rudd said.
Isolated North Korea relies on China as its main political and economic supporter, leading US lawmakers in recent years to criticize Beijing sharply over Pyongyang’s actions.
China showed annoyance after North Korea defied warnings and conducted a nuclear test in February. China joined a UN resolution on economic sanctions, as North Korea faced sharp criticism in the Chinese blogosphere for its insolence.
Rudd said that the United States should reach out to China’s new President Xi Jinping on contingency planning over North Korea, saying that such cooperation could ease mistrust between the two Pacific giants.
“Escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula may in fact require a new level of strategic discourse in the US-China relationship sooner rather than later,” Rudd said.
Rudd was visiting Washington following high-level talks in Beijing and Seoul on a trip he started shortly after declining to challenge Prime Minister Julia Gillard in the latest leadership tussle in Australia’s Labor Party.
Australia's Rudd sees China shift on N.Korea
