Chinese experts warned that the U.S., Japan and South Korea have set aside their differences to unite militarily against North Korea's nuclear weapons threat.
"On the North Korean issue, the U.S., Japan and South Korea are sharing high-level military information to act as one," Da Zhigang, director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Northeast Asian Studies, told the Global Times on Sunday.
"North Korea's recent missile tests have stimulated military cooperation among them," said Jin Qiangyi, director of the Asia Research Center of Yanbian University.
Bloomberg reported on Sunday that Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Seoul on Monday amid escalating tensions over North Korea's nuclear program, citing an official from South Korea's Blue House.
"On Saturday, some of Japan's land-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile interceptors began arriving at Japanese Self Defense Forces (SDF) bases in three of the four prefectures since any North Korean missile would likely fly over them en route to Guam," CNN reported on Sunday.
The U.S., Japan and South Korea have set aside their differences, Chinese experts said.
"South Korea and Japan have historical issues with each other, which influence their national sentiments. As neighbors, the two countries hardly enjoyed good times with each other," Jin noted.
Also, since Donald Trump became U.S. president, Japan has been dissatisfied with the U.S. on many global issues, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership issue, Da said.
Both South Korea and Japan would like to "take a break" under U.S. leadership and to exercise greater autonomy on diplomacy, Jin noted.
"However, despite disagreements between the three countries, they have formed an alliance," Da noted, adding that they would sacrifice their own interests to keep the alliance together.
Da noted that their pronouncements and actions appear more like a strategy "so that the US could put pressure on China."
"The U.S. and North Korea are engaged in a word war. North Korea is trying to draw the world's attention," Jin said. "If North Korea takes any military action, the U.S. can stop them."
In a phone call with Trump on Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged restraint on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. The concerned parties should avoid remarks and actions that could escalate tensions on the peninsula, Xi said, adding that China is ready to work with the U.S. to appropriately resolve the issue, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
