Tag: THAAD

Just as I predicted the Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) complaints if the THAAD location does move would just shift from one location to another:

The Ministry of National Defense said it will begin to evaluate candidate locations which are being mentioned for an alternative site for THAAD as soon as possible. Candidate sites being mentioned include a country club owned by Lotte Group located in Chojeon Township of the county, Mt. Yeomsok in Geumsu Township and Mt. Kkachi in Suryun Township.

The ministry’s acceptance of the county’s request seems to have resolved the mounting conflict in Seongju to some extent, but at the same time is causing fresh protests from residents living in Gimcheon County as residents there are close to the Lotte Skyhill Country Club, which has been mentioned as the most prominent alternative site.

The Lotte golf club has emerged as an alternative location to host THAAD as it is located at an altitude of 680 meters above sea level, which is higher than the Seongsan artillery unit, located at an altitude of 380 meters. The golf course is also located 18 kilometers away from any residential areas, while the Seongsan artillery unit is only 1.5 kilometers away. Those conditions seem to be better to resolve controversy over the safety of the radar.

Right after Kim’s news conference, Gimcheon residents formed a protest committee that is planning to stage a large-scale rally Wednesday with around 10,000 residents.

Gimcheon City Council also issued a statement, saying, “The Lotte golf club is very close to Gimcheon, which means Gimcheon will suffer the damage of the THAAD deployment. We are opposed to the deployment at the golf club.” [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but the Sky Hill Golf Resort is not 18 kilometers from residential areas.  On Google Earth I measure downtown Gimcheon as being 7 kilometers away from the golf resort and smaller villages outside of the city are even closer.

The article also discusses the other point I brought up earlier this week in regards to the need to purchase private land from the Lotte Group.  It seems to me to get this system deployed as quickly as possible leasing the land would be the fastest solution until a longer term agreement can be reached.

Via a reader tip comes this news of how the Chinese flew three aircraft into the ROK’s air defense identification zone:

South Korean forces scrambled fighter jets to escort three Chinese military planes after they entered an overlapping air defence zone. The Chinese aircraft are reported to have flown into the airspace on Thursday, 18 August near South Korea’s island of Jeju without alerting authorities in Seoul.

Beijing’s aircraft, which included a bomber, quickly left the airspace after South Korean authorities issued a warning and dispatched the fighter jets, a military source told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.  [IB Times]

You can read more at the link, but I agree with the article’s assessment that the Chinese are militarily showing their displeasure against the ROK’s decision to deploy THAAD to South Korea.

For the residents of Seongju they will need to decide if they still care about the THAAD deployment if its moved to the alternate site that is no longer in their backyard:

Residents living near a government-chosen site for a U.S. anti-missile system failed Saturday to discuss whether to review an alternative location due to opponents’ protest.

Residents of the southern county of Seongju held a meeting to discuss whether they can consider picking an alternative site for the government’s move to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) inside the county.

But they failed to reach a consensus over whether to review the alternative location as some of them insisted that the government should scrap its plan to deploy a THAAD battery on their county. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but here is a Google Earth image I put together that shows the two proposed THAAD locations:

As the image shows the problems with the THAAD deployment moves from Seongju’s backyard to Gimcheon’s.  So will the people of Gimcheon now complain about the deployment?  I guess time will tell, but that is the problem with THAAD in South Korea it will always be radiating over someones backyard.

One thing for sure is that the cost of the deployment of THAAD is going to skyrocket by having to purchase or lease the Lotte Sky Hill Golf Resort land from the Lotte corporation compared to deploying the THAAD on government owned ROK Air Force land at the first THAAD site outside of Seongju.

This photo shows Lotte Skyhill Seongju Country Club in the namesake county, 296 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The club and its vicinity rapidly emerge as an alternative candidate site for the U.S. anti-missile system, called Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), instead of an originally-planned site in the same county amid local residents’ vehement opposition to the deployment, citing health problems. Lotte Skyhill provided the photo. (Yonhap)

Via a reader tip comes an opinion piece from ROK Drop favorite Andrei Lankov in regards to why China is so vehemently opposed to the deployment of the THAAD battery to South Korea:

However, such a hard blow is unlikely to ever be delivered by China. This is because extreme pressure is more likely to bring about regime collapse than denuclearization, and regime collapse is not what the Chinese leaders want to see (an anarchy in a nuclear state nearby is not their idea of stability and success). And at any rate, the Chinese losses from such a scenario will be greater than the problems created by THAAD deployment. Minor pressure, however, is not going to solve the nuclear problem and hence it will not lead to THAAD re-deployment elsewhere.

In this context, China therefore acts reasonably: it does not increase its pressure on North Korea, but rather penalizes South Korea for THAAD deployment. Obviously, it is being done in expectation that a sufficiently persistent form of pressure will eventually make the South Korean government – well, perhaps, next one – re-consider its position on THAAD.

After all, being a democracy, South Korea is relatively susceptible to outside pressures. China looms large in the South Korean economy, so informal sanctions – which  are very easy to introduce for the Chinese leaders – will have a noticeable impact on the lives of the common South Koreans who, unlike their northern brethren, can vote and who also have many other means to push the government in the direction they (rightly or wrongly) see as conducive to their interests.  [NK News]

I recommend reading the whole thing at the link.  Mr. Lankov is right about what he covers in his analysis.  However, I think he did miss one thing.  In my opinion the Chinese know very well that THAAD is not a risk to their strategic missile deterrent. Instead they see this an opportunity to create a wedge between the US and the ROK.  A weakened US-ROK alliance is in China’s national interest which the reversing of course on THAAD has the potential of creating.

Next year the US military will be testing the THAAD missile system against a North Korean Musudan target:

The United States will carry out an interception test against Musudan-type intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) next year with its advanced missile defense system, following successful trials on short and mid-range missiles, Washington’s missile defense chief said Thursday.

“As those (short-range and mid-range) tests have been done over a period of years and as that success has been achieved (with missile defense shield), we move to longer-range tests,” U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Director Vice Admiral James D. Syring said in a group interview with local reporters at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters in Seoul.

The agency chief said next year, the U.S. will test the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system against IRBMs to better counter the growing threats from North Korea in the Indo-Asia Pacific region. North Korea’s Musudan missiles are IRBM with a range of more than 3,000 kilometers and a capability of striking the U.S. territory of Guam and Japan.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but for those wondering how effective the THAAD interceptor is, it has been successful in 13 of 13 of its past tests to include shooting down six missiles that replicated current North Korean missiles.

This is pretty significant if the South Korean government moves forward with this suggestion:

North Korea provocations are making Seoul reconsider intelligence sharing strategies with Tokyo.

Seoul’s defense ministry spokesman Moon Sang-kyun told reporters Thursday the radar information from the U.S. anti-missile defense system THAAD could be shared with Japan, local news service Newsis reported.

That response was a departure from a previous statement issued July 19, when Defense Minister Han Min-koo told parliamentarians the information from the THAAD radar would not be shared with Japan.  [UPI]

You can read more at the link, but keep in mind that the South Koreans do not need THAAD to share data with Japan.  That is because the ROK already has their Israeli bought Green Pine radars installed with coverage of North Korea that could also share the data with Japan if the ROK wanted to.

The Chinese government is opposing the UN condemning the recent North Korean missile launch because they also want the UN to condemn the South Koreans for taking measures to protect themselves from these missile launches with the deployment of the THAAD system:

The United Nations Security Council has been unable to condemn the launch of a missile by North Korea that landed near Japan because China wanted the statement to oppose the planned deployment of a US anti-missile defense system in South Korea. North Korea launched a ballistic missile last Wednesday that landed in or near Japanese-controlled waters for the first time, the latest in a series of launches by the isolated country in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.

The 15-member council held a closed-door meeting on the same day, but has been unable to agree on a US-drafted statement to condemn the launch, which was almost identical to two previous statements issued by the council on North Korea (DPRK). China proposed that the statement also say “all relevant parties shall avoid taking any actions which could provoke each other and escalate tensions, and shall not deploy any new anti-ballistic missile stronghold in Northeast Asia with an excuse of dealing with threats of the DPRK nuclear and missile programs.”  [The Indian Express]

You can read more at the link, mean while the Chinese government has been releasing footage of their own missile defense tests used to protect their country.

If true this is all the more reason why South Koreans should want the THAAD battery if the intent of the Chinese missiles is to target US troops reinforcing the ROK during a crisis:

China is maintaining ballistic missile bases in its northeastern territories, all equipped with missiles capable of reaching U.S. bases in the Pacific including Okinawa, according to a report posted on the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) website.

The bases may explain Beijing’s strident opposition to the deployment of a U.S.-made anti-missile defense system in South Korea, as its presence could hamper China’s missile striking capabilities if conflict broke out on the Korean Peninsula.

The presence of the U.S.-operated Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system in South Korea could thwart Beijing’s attempt to attack U.S. ships ferrying soldiers to the peninsula with long-range ballistic missiles, analysts say.   [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

Who do these leftist politicians serve, the people of South Korea or China?:

President Park Geun-hye Monday lashed out at political rivals’ opposition to the deployment of a U.S.-made missile defense system, saying issues of national security should be bipartisan.

The president’s sharpest criticism was aimed at six first-term Minjoo Party lawmakers who embarked on a three-day visit to Beijing on Monday, describing them as siding with Beijing on the missile system deployment, which it vociferously opposes.

At a regular senior secretariat meeting at the Blue House, Park noted it was the basic responsibility of politicians “to work in a bipartisan manner and avoid creating internal divisions when it comes to issues of national security.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but this is just another example of how the Korean left is trying to keep the THAAD issue alive to use as a political weapon during next year’s Presidential race.