I write with reference to Wang Xiangwei’s column , “US-China tensions: Korean war was a miscalculation. It could happen again with Taiwan” (September 5), which says the US miscalculated China’s intentions in relation to that conflict some 70 years ago. I would like to remind your readers that the Korean war was a United Nations operation after a vote in the Security Council in June 1950 and troops from 16 nations – including Thailand and the Philippines from Southeast Asia – took part, albeit under the leadership of US general Douglas MacArthur as the United States provided the bulk of resources. To say the US failed to defeat China’s People’s Liberation Army elides the reality that no nation wins wars; rather, millions of families grieve as the body bags return on both sides of a conflict. The PLA lost around 200,000 men while the Soviet Union, largely comfortably watching from the sidelines, lost about 300 men. Countless Koreans, especially civilians, suffered and still do to this day. Many leaders in China at the time knew of the heavy risks and did not want to get involved. General McArthur was dismissed for wanting to go too far and was relieved of his command; the Chinese Communist Party should be thankful to the UN. For many of us ordinary people, the United Nations is all we have and if nations fail to respect its resolutions, then conflicts will prevail. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which was signed by China, is one example where what was agreed to has been violated. The Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague has legitimised the Philippines’ position in the South China Sea dispute. China should take a step backwards as the US Navy or anyone else for that matter has all the right in the world to pass freely through the South China Sea in accordance with the law of the sea. There are no miscalculations here. Jan Bochenski, Mid-Levels
