Preparations for the Great Dokdo War Continue
A new arms deal has been announced between Raytheon and the ROK military:
The Pentagon on Friday announced the proposed sale to South Korea of advanced SM-2 missiles and related gear valued at up to $372 million.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a notice to Congress that Seoul had requested up to 210 Raytheon Co. -built SM-2 Block IIIA/B missiles and support equipment plus technical assistance from the U.S. government.
"The proposed sale will enhance South Korea’s defensive capabilities and increase interoperability with U.S. and mulit-national forces supporting coalition operations," the Pentagon said.
Does anyone find it ironic that on the same day this sale of advanced surface to air missiles is announced the Japanese Prime Minister was in Washington lobbying for the US to sell Japan the F-22:
The F-22 sale to Japan is favored by conservatives who say Japan, the closest U.S. ally in Asia, needs the warplanes to counter threats from both North Korea, where missiles could be pre-emptively attacked before launch, and China, which is building up forces opposite Taiwan, where China has deployed about 900 missiles within range of the island.
"One hundred F-22s in hands of Japan could change the Taiwan balance of power for two decades," said one official in favor of the estimated $30 billion sale. "The F-22 based in Okinawa could not only fight off [China’s People’s Liberation Army] air force but strike inside China; it is invisible to radar."
The arms race in northeast Asia continues.Â
Then after they finish pummeling each other the evil US will swoop in and grab all that Dokdo gold…er…oil…er pelican poo. Our agricultural industry will be rolling in it for years.
The sale of Standard SM-2s are nothing out of the ordinary. The ROKN will be launching its first Aegis destroyer next month and two more will follow, which means the ROKN has to buy more Standard missiles in order to arm the three Aegis destroyers.
As for the Japanese F-22 purchase, it's not a done deal. The export ban has been enacted by the US Congress on 1998, so before any Japanese F-22 sale can happen the Congress has to vote to lift the ban.
However the US is preparing for the eventuality and is working on a downgraded international variant of the F-22.
There is no official ROK reaction to a possible Japanese F-22 purchase, but there are some who are calling for the MND and the ROKAF to draw up countermeasures to the Japanese F-22s. One unnamed miliary official has even stated that "the Japanese F-22s will upset the balance of power in NE Asia and that the ROKAF may have to review its future fighter procurement plans"