China’s North Korean Puppet Is Getting Away With Murder … Again (Updated, Bumped)

[Update 12 Jul 2010: I’ve located the full text of the Presidential Statement, and contrary to reports I linked below, it does use the word “attack.” It takes note of “the findings of the Joint Civilian-Military Investigation Group led by the ROK with the participation of five nations, which concluded that the DPRK was responsible for sinking the Cheonan” before noting North Korea’s denial. But because the statement is completely toothless, none of this was terribly upsetting to the North Koreans, who still characterized what Ambassador Rice called a “very clear and appropriate response” as a “victory.” You wouldn’t ordinarily think both of those statements could be true. This is one of those times when I tend to believe the North Koreans more.]

After weeks of stalling by China, the flaccid U.N. response to a premeditated North Korean attack on a South Korean warship — in flagrant violation of the Korean War Armistice Agreement — is a non-binding “Presidential Statement” that that doesn’t condemn or blame North Korea, doesn’t use the word “attack,” and adds helpfully that North Korea denies everything. And being a “Presidential Statement” — not a resolution — the U.N.’s final response to this act of war doesn’t impose any sanctions or other tangible consequences.

To add insult to injury, the statement thanks the South Korean government for doing nothing about any of it, which I suppose is the inevitable consequence of relying on failed international institutions and dying alliances to guarantee the security of your country.

America’s U.N. Ambassador, Susan Rice, nonetheless seemed very satisfied with herself, calling the statement a “very clear and an appropriate response” that sends “a unified message that the Security Council condemns the attack of the March 26 that led to the sinking of the Cheonan.” (She had to use the word that the statement couldn’t.) But the clear falsity of Rice’s words mostly underscores the weakness of American diplomacy and the U.N. itself.

If only South Korea had a powerful friend in the U.N., you know, like China has.

The Chinese must be very pleased with themselves. They’ve gotten everything they wanted, and the mildly unpleasant words from President Obama and the State Department will soon be gone and forgotten. Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Eun must be the most pleased of all. They’ll be able to portray this as the military and diplomatic victory they need to help propel Jung Eun into September’s meeting of the Grand People’s assembly as a victor over North Korea’s enemies. All has gone as well as they could possibly have hoped. They’ve escaped any significant consequence for this attack, drawn China closer to North Korea and inflamed its differences with America and South Korea, and reaffirmed the gullible stupidity — though it calls itself skepticism! — of the herds of bleating imbeciles who make up somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of the South Korean population.

President Obama can now dust off his hands and say he has dealt with this problem. But if he had correctly concluded, that China, in its “willful blindness,” was going to block any effective multilateral actions, he might as well have told Susan Rice to submit a tough resolution to a vote and dared the ChiComs to veto it. A Chinese veto would have further isolated China, and would have been another embarrassing fiasco for the U.N.’s Korean General Secretary, whose institution would have failed to respond effectively to yet another North Korean provocation. But it would also have clarified to Americans and Asians alike how indefensibly irresponsible China’s response to this provocation has been. This would have further galvanized the commitment of those nations with an interest in deterring North Korea to a forceful and coordinated effort to freeze the assets of North Korea’s foreign business partners, especially its Chinese partners, without which Kim Jong Il’s regime could not survive.

Instead, by failing to do anything to discourage conduct like North Korea’s sinking of the Cheonan, we’ve only managed to encourage more of it. There is no joint naval exercise that can disguise the fact that military and diplomatic deterrence of North Korea, on which the peace of the region has depended for six decades, has been shattered.

China can try to deny that it has any influence over North Korea, and it can even populate the Internet with stoner-friendly disinformation, but hey, China also denies that it massacred thousands of its people in Tienanmen Square and says that Tibet is historically a part of China. It still can’t quite even bring himself to admit that North Korea started the Korean War. It’s not as if Kim Jong Il goes supplicating to the Netherlands immediately after making war on his neighbors, because that’s not where Kim Jong Il gets his cash, fuel, electricity, gifts for his lackeys, or generous help in evading U.N. sanctions.

It’s China that holds the remote for Kim Jong Il’s shock collar, and if China isn’t going to give Kim Jong Il a good zap for the sake of peace in the region, then it’s about time we realized that China was the real problem here. That calls for looking for ways to undermine its negative influence, and raising consciousness of China’s bad faith would be a good start.

Full text follows:

The Security Council notes the letter dated 4 June 2010 from the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/2010/281), and the letter dated 8 June 2010 from the Permanent Representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/2010/294).

The Security Council deplores the attack on 26 March 2010 which led to the sinking of the ROK naval ship, the Cheonan, resulting in the tragic loss of 46 lives.

The Security Council determines that such an incident endangers peace and security in the region and beyond.

The Security Council deplores the loss of life and injuries and expresses its deep sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families and to the people and Government of the ROK, and calls for appropriate and peaceful measures to be taken against those responsible for the incident aimed at the peaceful settlement of the issue in accordance with the UN Charter and all relevant provisions of international law.

In view of the findings of the Joint Civilian-Military Investigation Group led by the ROK with the participation of five nations, which concluded that the DPRK was responsible for sinking the Cheonan, the Security Council expresses its deep concern.

The Security Council takes note of the responses from other relevant parties, including from the DPRK, which has stated that it had nothing to do with the incident.

Therefore, the Security Council condemns the attack which led to the sinking of the Cheonan.

The Security Council underscores the importance of preventing further such attacks or hostilities against the ROK or in the region.

The Security Council welcomes the restraint shown by the ROK and stresses the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in northeast Asia as a whole.

The Security Council calls for full adherence to the Korean Armistice Agreement and encourages the settlement of outstanding issues on the Korean peninsula by peaceful means to resume direct dialogue and negotiation through appropriate channels as early as possible, with a view to avoiding conflicts and averting escalation.”

The Security Council reaffirms the importance that all Member States uphold the purposes and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.