China Warns President Yoon Not to Deploy a 2nd THAAD Battery to South Korea
The Chinese are making threats against South Korea again:
South Korea must “act prudently” and preserve the status quo rather than deploy a second U.S.-made missile defense system, a Chinese diplomat said Wednesday on Twitter.
The United States, not South Korea, has a “malicious intention to deliberately undermine” Beijing’s security by deploying another Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system in South Korea, Liu Xiaoming, China’s special envoy to the two Koreas, said in a tweet.
Stars & Stripes
First of all the U.S. has never offered to deploy a 2nd THAAD battery to South Korea. These batteries are very limited and it is doubtful the U.S. would want two of them on the peninsula at the same time. Secondly the Yoon administration during the campaign said they wanted South Korea to purchase its own THAAD battery.
However, they have already backtracked on this because a THAAD is not something you just go to a car dealership and buy. This is a multi-year long acquisitions process to purchase, build the battery, and train personnel for billions of dollars. This acquisition would take longer than the 5 years Yoon has in office and likely not worth the political capital to make it happen.
“Don’t you dare install self-defense methods against North Korean missiles,” mumbled Beijing, drunkenly.
Well if there were no plans before, needs to be deployed now
It may be backlash from the US House Speaker’s attempt to visit Taiwan.
“It may be backlash from the US House Speaker’s attempt to visit Taiwan.”
There was no attempt. There was just talk to get the Chinese all worked up and make statements it will be hard to walk back from.