Why China Is Against THAAD Deployment to South Korea

The deployment of THAAD has nothing to do with the radar being able to look into China, but more to do with trying to create a wedge between the US and the ROK according to analysts:

Analysts say China’s leadership is reluctant to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea because a sudden collapse of the regime could spark a refugee crisis at its border and lead to a pro-U.S., democratic Korea on its doorstep.

Kim Heung-kyu, head of the China Policy Institute at South Korea’s Ajou University, said relations between South Korea and China face a test because Beijing views the THAAD battery as a way of strengthening the alliance with Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.

“China does not regard the THAAD system as an issue of missile or radar, but a ‘regional alliance’ among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan,” Kim said. South Korean and U.S. officials made it clear that the THAAD battery, if deployed, “would be focused solely on North Korea.”

Still, there is a risk that the deployment of the THAAD battery in South Korea could make it difficult for Seoul to seek Beijing’s cooperation against Pyongyang, Kim said.

“With regard to the denuclearization of North Korea, I am not positive about whether the THAAD system is a useful option or not,” Kim said.  [Korea Herald]

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