In an interview with the Financial Times just prior to his summit meeting last week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump directed a stark ultimatum against both China and North Korea. Insisting that China “has great influence over North Korea”, Trump warned, “if China is not going to solve North Korea, we will. That is all I’m telling you.”

This thinly-veiled threat to take unilateral military action against North Korea’s nuclear assets if China does not tighten the economic noose around Pyongyang was soon followed by the ominous claim by the US that “the clock has now run out (on North Korea) and all options are on the table for us”.

Unfortunately, Trump’s gambit is fatally flawed on three counts.

… Evan N. Resnick is Assistant Professor and coordinator of the United States Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.