China military chief Chen Bingde surprised South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin with a 15-minute tirade against the U.S. as soon as the two sat down to talks at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, reported Chosun Daily.
“Being a superpower, the U.S. says this or that to other countries, but it never listens when other countries express themselves in a similar way,” ranted Chen according to S. Korean officials. “Some actions and expressions” by the U.S. indicate that it is trying to dominate other countries, Chen added.
South Korea too “must have felt the same way” despite its alliance with the U.S., Chen noted, adding that he understood if Seoul “finds it difficult to be as frank with the U.S. as it would like.”
Chen is Chief of China’s General Military Staff. His rant to Kim also included blasting the endless fretting over protocol that preceded the recent visit by his U.S. counterpart Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Such meticulous preparations signify bad bilateral relations,” Chen said. “I don’t think Seoul and Washington would make the careful and meticulous preparations we did if Mullen goes to Seoul, because they are allies.”
Rants against allies are considered diplomatic bad form and an imposition on a visiting dignitary. Chen’s may have been intended to discomfit South Korea for its earlier complaints to Beijing about its failure to do more about North Korea’s bellicose actions, according to some analysts.
Kim responded by suggesting that Seoul and Beijing “strengthen bilateral military exchanges and cooperation,” reported a Defense Ministry official.
Chen invited the South Korean Navy to make a port call in China, leaving the details to working-level officials.
Prior to his meeting with Chen Kim had called on China Vice President Xi Jinping seeking his help to ensure safe passage to S. Korea for five family members of a South Korean prisoner of war who recently fled to China from N. Korea.
