Yoon Vows to Scrap President Moon’s “Three No’s” Strategy with China If Elected
The Three No’s strategy is currently a point of contention in South Korea’s Presidential election:
In the wake of the THAAD retaliation, the Moon administration agreed with the Chinese government on so-called “Three-Nos” policy in order to assuage China. The policy includes no additional THAAD deployments, no participation in the U.S.-led strategic missile defense system and no trilateral military alliance with the United States and Japan.
Korea Times
Lee maintains that the policy is the right direction to go for economic cooperation with China.
“Considering economic cooperation with China, the policy is proper,” Lee said during a TV debate, Feb. 3.
However, Yoon strongly denounced the Three Nos policy, calling it a subservient and pro-China approach to diplomacy.
“The Moon government responded with overly accommodating gestures meant to placate China, declaring the ‘Three Nos’ policy. These pledges undercut South Korea’s sovereign right to protect its people. South Korea should never feel compelled to choose between the United States and China; rather, it must always maintain the principled position that it will not compromise on its core security interests,” Yoon said in a Feb. 8 contribution to Foreign Affairs magazine.
In the wake of controversial decisions by judges at the ongoing Beijing Winter Olympics that favored Chinese athletes over Koreans, anti-China sentiment has been rising sharply, prompting political circles, including presidential candidates, to capitalize on the resentment.
However, some warn that politicians need to refrain from exploiting the populist strategy for the presidential election, which could hurt diplomatic ties with China.
You can read more at the link, but Yoon Suk-yeol’s has said that he wants South Korea to purchase their own THAAD battery to better protect Seoul. If that happens the Chinese reaction should be interesting to watch.
Lee just another puppet for and boot licker of Xi.
Let’s see
No THAAD
An additional THAAD battery isn’t needed and the ROK is developing its own long range anti-ballistic missile, which makes a Korean owned and operated THAAD, redundant.
Even Ahn stated that he didn’t see the need for an extra THAAD considering that LSAM is under development.
If Yoon gets elected and goes through with the THAAD buy, it will be interesting to see how he can fit that into the overall Korean missile defense scheme.
There is also the matter of getting the buy included in the budget and passing it through the DPK controlled National Assembly. Even if it passes, if you consider that the Emiratis got their THAADs, three years after signing of contract, Yoon may not be President when the first Korean THAADs arrive in Korea.
So I think yeah, a lot of fuss over something that shouldn’t be making a fuss in the first place.
No Strategic missile defense with the US
Ever since the Roh presidency, the leftists have been obsessed with the notion that the US will ask them to join a grand missile defense network which will invite Chinese backlash.
This has led to among other things denying the ROKN permission to equip their AEGIS destroyers with the SM-3 anti-ballistic missile, since the leftist believe that this setup will enable the ROKN destroyers to be tied into the so called grand missile defence network.
This also is the reason for the leftists opposing THAAD.
However these fears may be unfounded considering that the US may be more concened about having early warning about DPRK missile launches to the US and less about using the ROK as a platform to shoot down Chinese missiles.
No trilateral alliance with the US and Japan.
There may not be a formal alliance on paper, but still the ROK, US and Japan do cooperate on military matters albeit discreetly. So don’t see the reason to make a big fuss of this.
TOK appears to believe, there is no coordination between Korean leftists, Beijing, and Pyongyang.. How quaint…
While it’s certainly no skin off my Texas-based nose, I wish the people trying to appease Winnie XI would (at the least) be honest about it.
Or, if that’s too difficult, use that thing between their ears to try to understand the difference between (1) an actual missile defense system installed and operational and (2) R&D for something that might be ready in ten years, if that.
Look up that human-cloning scientist, 황우석, if you can’t understand what I mean. Not all researchers accepting gummint money are “as honest as the day is long”…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PUumODrV-Q
And setnaffa needs to get his head out of the right wing conspiracy hole that he burrowed himself into and try to see the world in a more sensible way.
And since setnaffa seems to not know about the status of L-SAM(and other things pertaining to Korea) it has been in development since 2015, is scheduled to be test fired this week, with deployment scheduled for 2026.
If Yoon gets elected and goes ahead with the THAAD buy, does setnaffa think there is one lying in the corner that the US will deliver right away?
With the processing and the manufacturing, it won’t be until 2026 at the earliest that Korea will receive its first THAAD.
Which begs the question, is it worth it considering that LSAM will deploy in the sane year if not faster?
TOK,
Are you naive enought to think that Dear Comrade Setnaffova can be reasoned with?
He suffers from schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder.
You cannot reason with someone who has those mental problems.
As for Setnaffova, he seriously needs to do see a mental health professional, instead of drooling his mental problems all over the ROK Drop.
TOK is correct that purchasing THAAD is not like going to the car lot and taking him an automobile. There are very few THAAD systems and non lying around. So if Korea buys a THAAD it will be a few years before it is built, checked out, and delivered.
Even if that falls on the same timeline as L-SAM it doesn’t mean that Korea is getting a needless capability with THAAD. L-SAM intercepts missiles at up to 100 km in altitude. This pretty much covers every threat from North Korea. However, as Yoon mentioned it cannot defend against a lofted attack if North Korea was to fire one of their long range missiles very high up into the atmosphere and straight down on to South Korea. Many of their longer range weapons tests in the East Sea does this.
THAAD however can defend against this type of attack since it can intercept missiles in outside the atmosphere in outer space. Another thing to consider is that if Korea does purchase its own THAAD what is to stop the US from asking the ROK government to take over the Seongju THAAD site? The site is still being blockaded and supplying it continues to be a logistical challenge done largely by helicopter. If the US can hand this headache over to the ROK government and get back one of its few THAAD batteries to use elsewhere this may be something they would be interested in.
Gee… I seem to have struck a nerve…
Systems that already work are easier to buy and install than systems not actually up and running.
And as GI pointed out, South Korea could just buy the THAAD already in place and add to it, making a much faster debut. Even buying an Israeli Iron Dome system is preferable to something that is still pie in the sky by and by…
I don’t make or lose money or national pride based on Korean politics, unlike some folks. But buying a pig in a poke is what TOK and the others recommend.
Of course, they seem to have less influence on the Korean Government than I do, so it’s kinda fun to watch them base their insults on Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 smear campaign…
However, as Yoon mentioned it cannot defend against a lofted attack if North Korea was to fire one of their long range missiles very high up into the atmosphere and straight down on to South Korea. Many of their longer range weapons tests in the East Sea does this.
@GIKorea
I think Yoon is listening to the various military ‘experts’ who are ardent supporters of the PPP.
There are two problems with this theory, however.
It assumes that the DPRK will waste its precious IRBMs and ICBMs which are more aimed at Guam, Hawaii, and the continental US to attack the ROK by lofting them, which itself it not an easy manuever and can be wasteful to say the least.
The DPRK also has a lot more shorter ranged weapons, like its Iskander copy, which are more suitable for attacking the ROK, and which the DPRK will more likely to use considering that they are more readlily available and less wasteful.
It also assumes that THAAD will do its job.
However, there’s the question of whether THAAD can intercept a lofted ballistic missile.
Missiles fired at highly lofted trajectories, which would reenter the atmosphere at higher velocities and steeper angles, could also pose major problems for the system.
https://armscontrolcenter.org/thaad-band-aid-potential-bullet-wounds/
So, pretty much Yoon seems to not have given much thought into the THAAD matter.
The ROK has made investments into BMD, by deploying four Israeli-made long-range ballistic missile detecting radars, tying them into a C&C system, updating its Patriots to PAC-3s, developing and deploying the KM-SAM system, and developing the L-SAM.
However it needs to do more. More KM-SAMs and Patriots, an anti-hypersonic interceptor, in addition to unmanned loitering munitions to seek out and take out the mobile launchers would be more prudent investments than another THAAD battery
What setnaffa said
And as GI pointed out, South Korea could just buy the THAAD already in place and add to it, making a much faster debut.
And what GIKorea said
There are very few THAAD systems and non lying around.
Another thing to consider is that if Korea does purchase its own THAAD what is to stop the US from asking the ROK government to take over the Seongju THAAD site?
If the US can hand this headache over to the ROK government and get back one of its few THAAD batteries to use elsewhere
I see GiKorea suggesting that the ROK take over the THAAD site if the ROK buys its own THAAD,
Nothing there that says GI is suggesting that the ROK take over the battery and the site, lock and stock. Just like it did when the USFK pulled out the units and personnel for the HAWK and Nike Hercules batteries, way back in the 70s.
As a matter of fact, it seems that GI rather take the precious THAAD battery out of Korea and deploy it somewhere else where it is more needed.
so it’s kinda fun to watch them base their insults on Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 smear campaign…
And what does this have to do with the THAAD debate, I wonder?
It seems that setnaffa needs to read the other comments more carefully and think before he types them, because he’s looking more like the person that KM and KP love to describe.
TOK, the other trolls call me a Russian bot. That’s the Clinton thing. Which you already know, unless you’re just Beijing agitprop like they are.
Amd you’re still dancing rather like an interior designer around the fact that products in design always, always, always take 5 to 10 years and Billions (dollars, won, whatever) more than promised.
South Korea needs missile defense now, not some unknown time in the future.
And sure, I understand your fear of trusting America after how badly Biden defended Afghanistan—a trademark of Democrat Administrations.
However, China has sn insatiable appetite. You can’t appease them and survive. Look north and see how they treat their puppet state. They’re still starvibg while Beijing spends big money hosting the Olympics (and does a worse job than Korea did by far).
As I said, I don’t lose anything no matter what Moonpie decides; but there are still a lot of Koreans I care about. And I hope they stay safe.
But waiting for new homegrown (but not finished or deployed anywhere) secret weapons to mature when there are existing technologies that could keep your country safe sounds, at best, ill-advised.
@setnaffa
I think one calls you a Russian bot and the other calls you cancer brain , but on the other hand, you do not hesitate to call me a leftist China appeaser, eventhough I haven’t expressed those thoughts and just because I do not agree with your comments.
Anyways I am in agreement that Korea shouldn’t try to develop everything when it can get it off the shelf.
And if the buy THAAD debate was being debated back in 2015 or so, I would have argued for buying a battery or two, but this is 2022, where L-SAM is in the seventh year of development with deployment scheduled for 2026, which BTW fits your 10 year logic.
L-SAM is’t a fantasy, there is a protoype radar in existence undergoing tests and the missile is probably all assembled for its flight test.
Even without L-SAM, the ROK has a missile defence system in place with four Green Pine long-range radars, and the Patriot and KM-SAM batteries ready to fire away at an approaching DPRK ballistic missile.
L-SAM is simply an extension of that shield, and the technology used to create the operational KM-SAM.
It’s also not a matter of trust in the US but what is more feasible at this point.
Spending extra money on something which will be available four or five years down the road or recouping our investment in a system that shows promise and will be available in four to five years time?
Knowing KM-SAM which has been exported to the UAE, I’m sure that L-SAM will be able to fulfill its potential.
So, if there is extra money, why spend the extra money on THAAD?
As I said, with that extra money I would rather have it be spent on an existing unmanned loitering munition that can hunt down the mobile launchers, which are the key in addition to more Patriot and KM-SAM batteries to counter the large number of .short range missiles that the DPRK will surely rain down on the South.
The U.S. military has largely been supportive of the ROK buying their own capability to defend themselves, so if they bought a THAAD battery to replace the one currently in Seongju I doubt the U.S. would give much pushback on that.
As mentioned before the biggest utility for a THAAD battery to defend Seoul would be from a lofted trajectory attack which as TOK mentioned in probably unlikely to happen. That is why I think if Yoon wanted to purchase something now it would be multiple Iron Dome batteries to defend Seoul with from the rockets and artillery that are currently targeting it.