South Korean President Park Geun Hye's Presence at Beijing Parade Causes Concern in the West
While North Korea remained to be China's ally, South Korea President Park Geun Hye was invited to attend Beijing's military parade. The event, which was held at Tiananmen Square on Thursday, marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Park was given a position of honor, along with Peng Liyuan - wife of Xi Jinping, Secretary General of the Communist Party of China - and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as she watched the military parade.
An article published by The Diplomat on the same day stated that a lot of people from the United States were concerned about Park's attendance during the massive military parade. Some of them said that it might give the impression that South Korea was leaning toward China at the expense of its ally, the U.S.
Park already had a total of six summit meetings with Xi after accepting the invitation to attend on Thursday, which was her third visit in China.
During their meeting on Wednesday, Park was praised by Xi on her efforts to improve both nations' relationship. According to the Secretary General, "the Korea-China relationship has become the best-ever national relationship in history," highlighting their free trade agreement and Seoul's participation in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
To this, the media in South Korea reasoned out that Park merely sought the help of China, hoping that closer ties could lead towards development on the matters between both Koreas. Meanwhile, Park and Xi warned Pyongyang from taking actions that would result to tension again.
Park thanked China for helping defuse the tension between the North and South. She said, "I would like to thank China for its constructive role in closely communicating with us in order to resolve the latest tension on the Korean Peninsula."
As controversy surrounded the attendance of the South Korean president, China's 70th anniversary was successful. Around 12,000 participated in the military parade. "Some 200 fighter jets took to the skies and 70,000 doves and balloons were released above Tiananmen Square," to end the celebration - CNN reported last Thursday.
