Tag: missile defense

I guess the US has to go through the motions of telling the Chinese that the THAAD missile defense system is of no threat to them.  However, I have to guess that US officials know that the Chinese already know it is not a threat and instead are in my opinion using the issue to try and create a wedge between the US and the ROK:

The United States and China have been in discussions about the possible deployment of an advanced American missile defense system in South Korea, a diplomatic source with knowledge of the matter said Monday.

The discussions are aimed at seeking China’s understanding that the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea is not aimed at undermining China’s security interests, the source said on the condition of anonymity.

While the U.S. is trying to explain technical details on why the THAAD is not targeting China, the Chinese side has not actively listened to the explanation from the U.S. side, the source said.

“The Chinese side has been opposed to the THAAD with incorrect information and the discussions are aimed at changing China’s view about the issue,” the source said.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

It is looking more and more like the deployment to THAAD to South Korea is a done deal the way the Defense Ministry is currently talking.  The defense official in the article is right that THAAD has no capability against ICBMs.  The US has the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system that is used to defend against ICBMs.  Shooting down an ICBM requires a very large booster due to how high ICBMs fly which the THAAD does not have.  The THAAD system is used to defend against short and medium range missiles which North Korea threatens the South with.  THAAD does engagements at higher altitudes than the current Patriot system already deployed to the ROK.  This means the ROK would have a layered defense if the THAAD misses at a higher altitude the Patriot can still engage at a lower altitude.  Additionally when dealing with nuclear warheads you want to intercept them as high as possible:

The South Korean military will strategically focus on picking a candidate site for the U.S. missile defense system THAAD, rather than on a backlash from China and Russia, a high-ranking defense ministry official said Friday, as Seoul and Washington are poised to begin formal talks next week on the sensitive matter.

“Considering the stances of neighboring countries when (South Korea) picking an area to host the THAAD is not militarily (right),” the Defense Ministry official said on the condition of anonymity.

China has expressed “serious concern” over the deployment plan, which the country believes would put it within the range of the U.S. defense system. Russia is also unnerved by South Korea’s move.

The official stressed that the THAAD, if deployed in South Korea, would target North Korea alone over its growing nuclear and missile capabilities.

He also dismissed a view that South Korea is being drawn into the U.S. missile defense network.

“It does not necessarily mean South Korea joins the U.S. missile defense system,” the official said. “The THAAD does not intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles nor does it intend to defend the mainland U.S. or any other third country.”  [Yonhap]

You can read the rest at the link.

It is interesting that you don’t hear the Chinese or Russians complaining about the deployment of this Patriot battery to South Korea like you have about the THAAD battery when both systems have no capability to shoot down their ICBMs.  It will also be interesting to see how long it will take before a THAAD battery is deployed to South Korea as well:

 

The United States temporarily deployed an additional Patriot missile battery in South Korea in response to North Korea’s nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch, ahead of talks next week to set up an even more sophisticated U.S. missile defense in a move that has worried China and Russia.

The new tough stance follows South Korea’s decision to shut down an inter-Korean factory park that had been the rival Koreas’ last major symbol of cooperation, but that Seoul said had been used by North Korea to fund its nuclear and missile programs. North Korea responded by deporting South Korean citizens, seizing South Korean assets and vowing to militarize the park.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

If THAAD is going to be deployed to South Korea it appears it will happen pretty rapidly:

The United States hopes to deploy the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea “as quickly as possible” and the two countries will begin formal discussions on the matter “in the next few days,” the Defense Department said Monday.

“We would like to see this move as quickly as possible. We’re beginning the consultations now in the coming days with the South Koreans and we expect that this will move in an expeditious fashion,” Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said at a briefing.

Shortly after North Korea’s long-range missile launch Sunday, South Korea and the U.S. announced they would launch formal consultations on the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to the South to better defend against the North’s nuclear and missile threats. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

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]

You can read more at the link.

The Chinese government is upset about the talks between the US and South Korea to deploy the THAAD missile defense system to the ROK and their complaints when looked at objectively pretty much justifies the deployment of THAAD to Korea:

China summoned South Korean Ambassador Kim Jang-soo to protest against Seoul and Washington’s agreement to begin talks on deploying a U.S. Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea..

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin called in the ambassador Sunday to protest.

It is the first time the Chinese government has called in Kim, a former defense minister, who assumed the post last March.

Earlier, the Chinese foreign ministry had expressed “deep concern,” about the THAAD discussions.

Hours after the North Korean rocket launch Sunday, South Korea and the U.S. said they would begin talks on deploying the THAAD battery. The launch is widely viewed as a covert ballistic missile test to develop delivery vehicles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

“China’s position on the issue of anti-missile is consistent and clear,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a faxed statement, Yonhap News Agency reported. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but here is the part of their complaint when looked at objectively pretty much justifies deploying THAAD to Korea:

“Countries, when pursuing their own security, should take into account others’ security interests as well as regional peace and stability.”

The Chinese should heed their own advice because their actions to allow the Kim regime to continuously destabilize regional security and threaten the security interests of South Korea is why THAAD looks like it will be deployed to Korea in the first place.

https://twitter.com/pearswick/status/696230957771173888

Like I have been saying for months, official talks to deploy THAAD to Korea would probably happen once the ROK government had the political cover of a North Korean provocation which the latest rocket launch has given them:

South Korea and the United States have agreed to begin negotiations for the deployment of an advanced American air defense system on South Korean soil, officials said Sunday, despite opposition from China and Russia.

The announcement on the controversial defense system, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, was given just hours after North Korea launched a long-range missile as part of the continual push of its intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

“The U.S. and South Korea have decided to start official discussion on the possibility of U.S. Forces Korea’s deployment of THAAD as part of measures to upgrade the South Korea-U.S. alliance’s missile defense posture against North Korea’s advancing threats,” Yoo Jeh-seung, deputy minister for policy, said in a joint briefing with Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, the commander of USFK’s Eighth Army.

Vandal said the decision was made upon USFK Commander Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti’s recommendation, adding that “it is time to move forward on the issue.”  [Yonhap]

WSJ's story: "Behind the scenes it looks like Thaad is close to a done deal."@AlastairGale https://t.co/i4JQCz9OOn pic.twitter.com/GFY9GIWIDO

— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) January 30, 2016

Below is the latest on the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea.  I have always said that it would take a major crisis for the ROK to have political cover to deploy this system on the peninsula.  From the ROK perspective this strategy make sense because it gives them leverage with China to keep North Korea in line if they don’t want THAAD in South Korea:

Placement of a U.S. mobile missile defense system in South Korea remains unlikely in the near term despite continued concern about North Korea’s nuclear program, analysts and government officials say.

Top U.S. military officials want the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, ready to deploy in the Asia-Pacific region on a permanent basis — and its bases in South Korea are ideally where they need to be to counter a possible North Korean offensive.

Last year, Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work said the Pentagon had conducted site surveys for THAAD within South Korea. However, what makes sense from a military tactical standpoint doesn’t always correspond with how leaders view the strategic and diplomatic consequences.

When rumors spread in March of a deal to deploy THAAD to South Korea in an emergency, China decried the possibility as a threat to its security, with Russia voicing opposition as well.

That left South Korea uncomfortably positioned in a dispute pitting China and Russia on one side and the United States and Japan on the other, said Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul.

The result was that despite discussions between President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye earlier this year, along with high-level ministerial talks between both nations, neither side has confirmed ever having had formal talks about THAAD.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.