In his paper, "Striking the Balance: China's Response to a North Korean Contingency," Shaquille James presents multiple scenarios and types of responses China could take in the event of a North Korean contingency that may result from internal instability. To better understand the different responses, he provides a historical overview of Chinese intervention into the Korean War in 1950 and outlines China’s current geopolitical interests and military capabilities. Read his full paper below and learn more about our Emerging Leaders!
Shaquille H. JAMES is currently a First Lieutenant in the US Air Force and he operates the Minuteman III nuclear ICBM weapon system as a Missile Combat Crew Commander. Before joining the USAF, he studied Linguistics and Asian Studies at Georgetown University. During his time at Georgetown, he worked, volunteered, and networked extensively in the areas of North Korean human rights and affairs—this included hosting speaker events for defectors and North Korea experts at his university, working with and interning at North Korea-focused think tanks and organizations, researching North Korea-related issues for articles and papers, as well as learning the Korean language. Shaquille used his familiarity with the Korean language to build and maintain strong and ongoing rapports with North Korean defectors living in South Korea and the US, in part to better his understanding of North Korea as a society. While on active duty, Shaquille uses his background in Asian studies to build East Asia-focused briefings and presentations for USAF linguists, foreign area officers, and other personnel interested in East Asian affairs. His briefings are ongoing and often feature high-ranking officers and actively deployed foreign attachés. In the future, Shaquille desires to become a Foreign Area Officer and work either in China, Taiwan, South Korea, or, if the US ever establishes a presence there, North Korea. In addition to becoming a sound technical expert in his core specialty (ICBMs), Shaquille’s study and professional development typically focuses on better preparing himself for assuming the role of an FAO in the future.