McCain: US needs tougher China message on Iran, North Korea

Posted by Mc Parry on June 26th, 2009 No Comments Printer-Friendly

WASHINGTON — The United States must take a tougher line on China with regard to sanctions on North Korea and aiding US goals in Iran, Republican Senator John McCain said Thursday. “China has been unhelpful, especially on the issue of North Korea,” said McCain, his party’s 2008 presidential candidate, as he and two other leading senators unveiled plans for legislation to help Iranian dissidents.

US Senator John McCain (Getty Images)

“I think it’s time we told the Chinese that an important part of our relationship is how they react as far as North Korea is conncerned, but also as far as Iran is concerned,” the Arizona lawmaker added. McCain dismissed “toothless” UN sanctions to curb North Korea’s alleged spread of weapons and nuclear know-how, pointing to news reports that a North Korean ship, potentially carrying arms, was headed for Myanmar.

“To follow a ship into a port, as apparently a North Korean ship is going to a port in Myanmar, you’re not going to get anything out of that. I think we all know that,” he said. “These sanctions that were enacted by the UN, especially on the issue of stopping ships that may be carrying weapons and missiles or nuclear technology, (are) toothless,” said McCain, who underlined that China is “literally the only nation that has any significant influence on North Korean behavior.”

He spoke after Myanmar downplayed media reports about the North Korean ship, saying it expected a vessel from the communist state but that it only carried rice. The comments came after a US Navy destroyer began tracking the suspect North Korean ship, the Kang Nam 1, under new United Nations sanctions designed to punish Pyongyang over a recent underground nuclear test.

US officials have said that the Kang Nam 1 was being tracked by the Aegis destroyer USS John S. McCain — named for McCain’s father and grandfather — under the UN sanctions and could be headed to Myanmar. Military-ruled Myanmar’s government-controlled media said it had no information on the ageing Kang Nam 1 and that a separate North Korean cargo ship was due to arrive from India. (AFP)