Clinton vowed to ‘ring China with missile defense’ if North Korea not stopped, leaked emails say
Liu Zhen
5 Hours AgoSCMP
2
COMMENTSJoin the Discussion
SIGN UP FOR OUR
ELECTION COVERAGE
NEWSLETTER
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
Hillary Clinton (L) speaks to Chinese Vice-Premier Li Keqiang (R) during their bilateral meeting in Beijing on September 5, 2012.
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said at a private speech three years ago the Chinese military was "the biggest supporters of a provocative North Korea" and that Washington had vowed to Beijing it would "ring China with missile defense" if Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program was not stopped, according to hacked emails.
"So China, come on. You either control them or we're going to have to defend against them," the former secretary of state was quoted as saying when addressing a Goldman Sachs conference in June 2013.
The comments were included in hacked emails belonging to her campaign manager John Podesta. Their release last week comes amid a row between China and South Korea over the deployment of the US-built Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system.
Why is the US doing military drills with South Korea? Sunday, 21 Aug 2016 | 11:19 PM ET | 02:49
Beijing has strongly protested against Washington and Seoul's decision to deploy the system in South Korea, prompting China and Russia to announce additional missile defense drills.
An excerpt compilation of her paid speeches, Clinton said North Korean missiles could not only inflict damage on United States treaty allies, namely South Korea and Japan, but could also "theoretically" reach Hawaii and the US west coast.
GET ELECTION COVERAGE SENT STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX
GET THE YOUR MONEY YOUR VOTE NEWSLETTER
Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.
Privacy Policy.
But at another event, she said Pyongyang did not pose a direct, immediate threat to the U.S. In February 2013, North Korea conducted its third underground test.
More from the South China Morning Post:
Deploying missile defence system in South Korea harms ties with China, says Chinese foreign minister
China and Russia criticise THAAD missile defence system as destabilising region
If Beijing can claim South China Sea, US can call Pacific'American Sea', says Clinton in leaked speech
"You know, we all have told the Chinese if they [North Korea] continue to develop this missile program and they get an [intercontinental ballistic missile] that has the capacity to carry a small nuclear weapon on it, which is what they're aiming to do, we cannot abide that," she said. "[We're] going to ring China with missile defense. We're going to put more of our fleet in the area."
Clinton said Chinese President Xi Jinping's administration appeared to have taken a more dismissive stance towards its military's support to Pyongyang.
China's news agency calls for restraint after North Korea nuclear test Friday, 9 Sep 2016 | 7:30 AM ET | 00:35
"The biggest supporters of a provocative North Korea has been the PLA. The deep connections between the military leadership in China and in North Korea has really been the mainstay of the relationship," Clinton said.
"So now all of a sudden new leadership with Xi and his team, and they're saying to the North Koreans – and by extension to the PLA – no ... you're going to have to pull back from your provocative actions."
North Korea carried out two additional nuclear tests in January and September this year, along with a series of missiles test firings, in defiance of United Nations sanctions, which are backed by Beijing, although it prefers to resolve the issue through talks.
The content of the speeches were contained in thousands of hacked emails belonging to Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, which were released by WikiLeaks last week. They have been neither confirmed nor denied by Clinton's team.
Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.
by Taboola |
