The Australian suggests that the threat of nuclear proliferation in the Asia-Pacific is real amid the US fears about a potential arms race if North Korea is not reined in.
Senior Trump administration officials reportedly have told Foreign Minister Julie Bishop that other countries in the region, including Japan, would be compelled to seek their own nuclear military capability if North Korea escalates its intermediate-range missile program.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop stressed that China and the US must engagin a formal dialogue to resolvethe situation. (But) this cannot be resolved by the US alone … China must play a significant role … there must be a formal dialogue between the two over North Korea.
The Australian reported that Australian Strategic Policy Institutexecutive director Peter Jennings reinforced Ms Bishops assessment, claiming that a nuclear arms race was now becoming a real risk.
Mr Jennings places an emphasis on the time-frame, saying the window for dealing with the issue was only one to two years.
According to the Australian, Mr Jennings suggests three possible scenarios to play out: a pre-emptive strike by the US; the US could expand its nuclear umbrella to protect its allies; Japan and South Korea would likely seek to start their own military nuclear programs if the former options failed.
He agreed with Ms Bishop that the US had a real concern about a potential nuclear arms race in the Asia-Pacific region, and said we shouldnt let them get to that point.
The Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) is to be held in Sydney next month, where the issue will dominate.
