My Take | Three united nations give peace a chance
- Instead of breaking down seemingly irresolvable regional conflicts and problems, let’s look at current history in its totality and make uniting China, Korea and Ireland the goal of the century
One of the great political achievements of the last century was German unification.
However, the violent 20th century still leaves us with plenty of leftover conundrums that now threaten a regional conflict in Asia, a potential nuclear confrontation in the Korean peninsula and a Brexit disaster in Northern Ireland.
But, let’s dream a little and imagine how this century may achieve the greatest of peace for a unified Ireland, China and Korea – and for humanity itself.
At the moment, the United States won’t accept a unified China – “one China” be damned – any more than Beijing would countenance a united Korea.
One means losing an entire island chain of defence and creates a forward position for the Chinese to threaten US allies in the Asia-Pacific as well as its own Pacific fleet. The other would mean losing a key buffer zone and having a US ally right up to the Chinese borders.
Meanwhile, England would not give up its Protestant Loyalists and Ulster Unionists, and lose its historic status as the “United Kingdom”. That may be worse than losing the British Empire.