Tag: THAAD

Here is the latest on the whole deploying the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea that has the Chinese worked up:

The United States has included its advanced missile-defense system as part of the support it would provide South Korea in emergency situations on the Korean Peninsula, a South Korean military source said Sunday.

“The U.S. plans to deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in case of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula,” a military source told Yonhap News Agency. “My understanding is that THAAD is easily transportable with a U.S. military aircraft.”

Washington has recently hinted at the deployment of a battery on Korean soil to better deter the North’s growing nuclear and missile threats. The U.S. stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which is technically ongoing since no peace treaty has been signed to end it.

The issue of whether or not South Korea should host the American missile defense system has caused a bipartisan divide in local politics. While conservatives support the system, the liberal side has not been so welcoming since it believes the U.S. presence here undermines South Korean sovereignty. The U.S., meanwhile, claims the battery is defensive in nature.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but it seems to me the ROK government is doing a good job of using this deployment as a way to pressure the Chinese to keep the North Koreans in line. If the North Koreans do something provocative the ROK can then tell the US to deploy THAAD to South Korea which is something the Chinese do not want. This keeps the pressure on the Chinese while simultaneously maintaining South Korea’s strategic goal of balancing its relationship with both China and the US.

According to the Korean media here are the three sites that have been chosen as candidates to host the THAAD missile defense system if it ever does get deployed on the peninsula:

The United States has yet to make a decision on the deployment of its advanced missile-defense system in South Korea, though it has carried out surveys on candidate sites, the U.S. forces here said Thursday.

Washington has hinted at the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery on Korean soil, which is home to about 28,500 American troops, to better cope with Pyongyang’s growing nuclear and missile threats.

“There are possible site locations in Korea for this system … Informal surveys have been conducted to find suitable sites in the event of a possible future deployment,” United States Forces Korea (USFK) said in a statement.

The statement came after the vernacular daily Munhwan Ilbo reported Thursday that Washington has picked three candidate sites — the city of Pyeongtaek, just south of Seoul, the southern port city of Busan and the border town of Wonju.

Without elaborating, the USFK said, “No decisions have been made either to deploy a system or determine where such a system might go … No procedures for discussions with South Korea have taken place.”

Stressing that the U.S. will be “in full consultation” with South Korea if it were to station a THAAD unit on its soil, the USFK said the battery “would provide benefits” to the defense” of the host country “against the North Korean missile threat by augmenting the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system and U.S. Patriot systems in Korea.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

The Korea Herald has an editorial that explains why they believe China has been so adamant at preventing the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea:

China’s dogged opposition to the potential deployment of an additional U.S. missile defense asset to South Korea has raised questions over Beijing’s true intensions, given that the interception system does not pose any serious security threat to China.

Some assume the opposition to the Theater High-Altitude Area Defense system is intended to forestall any potential negative ramifications for China’s security. Others say the dissent appears designed to weaken the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

Despite the fact that THAAD is a wholly defensive system capable of targeting only North Korean missiles directed at South Korea, top Chinese officials ― most recently China’s Defense Minister Gen. Chang Wanquan ― have repeatedly voiced opposition to THAAD.

Military experts say that, contrary to lingering speculations, THAAD could not shoot down Chinese intercontinental ballistic missiles headed for the U.S. mainland, or pose any missile threat to China, should it be based on the peninsula.  [Korea Herald]

Here is what the article says about the radar being used for intelligence collection:

China may take issue with the radar system with the argument that THAAD could be used to gather intelligence about Chinese military activities. But China is already under the scrutiny of a host of U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets including military satellites, and vice versa.

You can read much more at the link, but the editorial believes this is simply a ploy by the Chinese to create tension between the US and the ROK in order to weaken the alliance.

It seems to me that it is pretty clear that the ROK wants THAAD in Korea, but the trick for them is figuring out how to deploy it without pissing off the Chinese:

With growing controversy in Northeast Asia surrounding U.S. ambitions to deploy an advanced antiballistic missile defense system on the Korean Peninsula, the Pentagon has reversed its earlier position that Seoul and Washington were discussing the issue.

In the latest media briefing, the Pentagon’s press secretary made clear the United States and South Korea are not having official discussions on possible deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, better known as Thaad.

“There are no formal consultations or discussions about Thaad with our Republic of Korea counterparts, no formal consultations about Thaad. And we want to be very clear about that,” said Navy Rear Admiral John Kirby on Friday in Washington. “We do discuss a full range of military capabilities with our allies in South Korea, of course, and some of those do include missile defense. But there are no consultations with respect to Thaad.”

Kirby said it is for the South Korean government and its people to decide what is of strategic value to their country.

The Pentagon’s verification came as Seoul, Washington, Beijing and Moscow have been engaged in an intensifying diplomatic tug-of-war in recent weeks over possible Thaad deployment. Throughout this month, defense officials in Beijing and Washington took turns nudging Seoul to make up its mind.

Thaad is a U.S. defense system designed to shoot down missiles using a hit-to-kill approach. Because it is equipped with a radar system that can cover more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), deployment of a Thaad battery in Korea has been a sensitive issue. Both China and Russia see it as a threat to their security interests that could be used for surveillance.

Beijing and Moscow appeared to be particularly sensitive to the Thaad system because of the AN/TPY-2 – a high-resolution, rapidly deployable X-Band radar designed to detect, track and identify ballistic missiles at long distances and very high altitudes.

During a press conference Feb. 10, Kirby said South Korea and the United States were discussing possible deployment of Thaad.

“I think we all recognize the importance of the capability,” Kirby said about the Thaad system in Washington. “There are constant discussions, and certainly with our South Korean allies about that.”

While offering no details, Kirby said, “It’s an important capability. It’s one that we talk to them about. That’s really as far as I can go today.”

Another U.S. government official, Lt. Col. Jeff Pool, a Pentagon press officer, supported Kirby’s earlier comments, saying officials in Washington and Seoul often talked informally about Thaad, although there never was an official discussion.

“It would be untruthful to say we haven’t informally discussed [it] because we already had a site survey in the ROK [South Korea] and Gen. [Curtis] Scaparrotti said he wanted it,” Pool told Korean correspondents in Washington, referring to earlier statements by senior U.S. defense officials.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

Instead of complaining to the ROKs maybe the Chinese should get their own house in order by getting the North Koreans to quit making threats against South Korea which is why THAAD is reportedly being considered for deployment to South Korea in the first place:

China’s defense minister expressed concern Wednesday over a possible deployment of the United States’ advanced missile-defense (MD) system in South Korea, Seoul’s defense ministry said.

The U.S. has said it is considering deploying a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, an integral part of its MD system, to South Korea, citing evolving threats from North Korea. It is designed to shoot down short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles at a higher altitude in their terminal phase using a hit-to-kill method.

“Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan expressed concern over the possible THAAD deployment on the Korean Peninsula,” defense ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told reporters, without further elaboration.

Chang made the remark to his South Korean counterpart Han Min-koo during a two-hour defense ministers’ meeting in Seoul.

“In response, Minister Han reaffirmed Seoul’s stance that Washington has not made any decision on the matter and has not asked South Korea (for any consultation). No agreement between Seoul and Washington exists on the issue,” Kim noted, adding that the missile-defense system “aims to solely deter and counter missiles from North Korea.”

It is the first time that a ranking Chinese official has raised the THAAD issue to South Korea publicly. China and Russia view it as a threat to their security, and critics also say it is part of a broader U.S. attempt to get the Asian ally to join its missile-defense system and could spark tensions with the neighbors.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

The Chinese continue to push this issues knowing full well that if they do not want THAAD in Korea then get the North Korea to quit making threats against the ROK:

China’s top diplomat to Seoul said Wednesday he is opposed to the possible U.S. deployment of an advanced missile-defense (MD) system in South Korea as it would hurt Sino-Korean ties, a lawmaker said.

The United States has said it is considering deploying a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, an integral part of its MD system, to South Korea, citing evolving threats from North Korea. It is designed to shoot down short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles at a higher altitude in their terminal phase using a hit-to-kill method.

The possibility has been a focus of media attention as it is seen as part of a broader U.S. attempt to get the Asian ally to join its air defense system and could spark tensions with China and Russia, who see it as a threat to their security interests.

“The THAAD would have a range of around 2,000 kilometers, which goes beyond the goal of countering missiles from North Korea,” Chinese ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong was quoted as saying by Rep. Won Hye-young of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD).  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but it is interesting that the Chinese do not care that the ROK has the Super Green Pine as well as the SPY-1 radars on their Aegis ships that can also have the range to look into China.

I guess one way you can look at this is that there was no talks about not deploy it either:

South Korea and the United States exchanged information on key features of the THAAD missile defense system, but there were no discussions on deploying the system to South Korea, Seoul’s ambassador to Washington said Saturday.

“I am aware that there were consultations on the weapons system itself,” Amb. Ahn Ho-young said in response to questions from lawmakers during a parliamentary audit of the embassy. “But there were no discussions at all about deploying a THAAD battery to the Korean Peninsula.”  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but the controversy with THAAD has to do with the left wing view that the deployment with antagonize China because the radar can look into China.  Interestingly enough these same leftists don’t seem to mind that the ROK military already has the Super Green Pine as well as the SPY-1 radars on their Aegis ships that can also have the range to look into China.  This is clearly just another example of the usual suspects on the Korean left trying to demagogue what should not be a controversial issue; protecting South Korea from a ballistic missile attack and instead twisting it into an anti-US issue.

The Chinese have been complaining about the deployment of THAAD to Korea and it looks like the Korean government is going to try and alleviate their concerns:

The government is moving to ease China’s concerns about the possible deployment of U.S. missile interceptors on Korean soil.

National Security Office (NSC) chief Kim Kwan-jin is expected to undertake this hard mission on a visit to Beijing to meet with State Councilor Yang Jiechi in October.

Government officials have recently dropped hints that they would not object to the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) plan to bring in a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.

The advanced missile-defense system that has a range of up to lometers is regarded as an indispensable element of the U.S. missile defense system.

“The NSC chief will try and acquire China’s understanding on THAAD,” a government official said. The resumption of six-party talks aimed at stopping North Korea’s nuclear programs would also be on the agenda, he said.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.