Temptations of power

China is not only on the path to Great Power status, it also means to exercise its newfound muscle. What is difficult to understand is why it wants to behave like a rogue power when the world would want it to be a responsible force in global affairs. Consider the evidence, starting with its choice of friends — including two countries whom you would consider as a part of the “axis of evil”, Pakistan and North Korea. China has not only ignored its own treaty obligations and nuclear-enabled a known proliferator like Pakistan, it has also lent its tacit support to North Korea even as that country has been busy violating its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which China is a signatory.