THE STRATEGICAL POSITION OF CHINA IN THE YELLOW SEA AND THE SINO-AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY COMPETITION IN THE KOREAN PENINSULA

With the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, China, by establishing diplomatic relations with South Korea, entered into competitive relations with the United States. The nuclear problem posed by North Korea was a good opportunity for China to stabilize the environment in East Asia and to prove its influence over North Korea. After the Six-Party agreement on 13 February 2007, China sought to win American trust in order to influence the future reunification of Korea. The Chinese approach is to use the strategy of « access-denial » to obtain control of the Yellow Sea, constructing a mine belt that is backed by short- and medium-range missiles, with the aim of both supporting North Korea and maintaining peaceful relations with South Korea. By signing the agreement with North Korea in February 2007 and the FTA with South Korea in April 2007, the United States is in a position to regain its advantageous position in the peninsula. Copyright 2011 P.U.F.. All rights reserved.