Mullen says China needs to step up

[unhappycamper]

Mullen says China needs to step up
By Anne Flaherty - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jun 10, 2010 18:53:50 EDT

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, said Wednesday he is disappointed by the international community's "tepid" response to North Korea's attack on a South Korean warship and called on China to step up and do more.

In an unusually blunt remarks about a country with close economic ties to the U.S., Mullen said China has the potential to be a productive leader in Asia and to work with the U.S. to promote stability.

"Beijing's answer has been sometimes yes and sometimes no," he said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Asia Society's annual dinner.

Mullen's comments echoed the tough rhetoric used last week by Defense Secretary Robert Gates when attending an international conference in Singapore. Gates had planned to visit Beijing, but was disinvited.

South Korea has asked the U.N. Security Council to punish North Korea after an international investigation said a North Korean torpedo sank a South Korean navy ship in March, killing 46 sailors. North Korea denies responsibility and says any punishment will trigger war.



And China replies:


China rebuffs US criticism on NKorea
By TINI TRAN
Associated Press Writer
Jun 10, 5:48 AM EDT

BEIJING (AP) -- China said Thursday it has taken a "fair and responsible" attitude in dealing with North Korea's alleged attack on a South Korean warship, batting aside criticism by a top U.S. military official that Beijing hasn't done enough.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China's goal has been "to safeguard peace and stability" on the Korean peninsula.

"All that we have done is based on this position, so we hope that all parties can understand that and cooperate with China to properly deal with this issue," he told a regularly scheduled news conference.

Qin was speaking a day after Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he was disappointed by the international community's "tepid" response to the North Korean attack in March on a South Korean warship, singling out China for not doing more.

Mullen made his comments in Washington D.C. at a dinner hosted by the Asia Society.