On the one hand they shake hands, on the other they line up their weapons. A few days after Anthony Blinken visited China, new unrest is brewing. South Korea and the High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD), a US-made anti-missile radar system, have fallen as the last obstacle to full deployment.
It is, in fact, a repeat of the crisis of recent years, which completes a trend that has already been evident since Governor Yoon Seok-yul became president of South Korea. At the end of November 2017, his predecessor Moon Jae-in completed the diplomatic mission to assure Xi Jinping that Seoul would not deploy additional missile systems in addition to those already purchased in 2016 and placed on a former golf course.
Not only that: the former progressive leader also confirmed that a tripartite military alliance with the United States and Japan would not be created. In return, China lifted economic sanctions against South Korean companies.
within 16 months, Hyundai’s sales in the People’s Republic of China fell by 64%, and those of the Lotte supermarket chain fell by 95%. All while North Korea raised its military and ballistic maneuvers to the limit. Chinese tourism has also slumped, while the products of the massive entertainment industry, from K-pop to K-Drams, have stuck around until recently.
Now he risks starting over, as well as grafting onto the volatile relations between the United States and China. In fact, the hurdle that was used to avoid the full spread of THAAD in Seoul has disappeared. The Departments of Defense and Environment have, at long last, published a report on the alleged health risks posed by electromagnetic waves from the radar system’s battery.
Doubts were raised by citizens residing in the vicinity of the THAAD vehicle. The release of the report allows for the implementation of the deployment, which is expected to occur in 2024. If Seoul decides to operate a full deployment, this includes building permanent support facilities to house soldiers and hardware systems.
during the stage In reference to the South Korean government report, the US military did not have daily access to THAAD. Publication of the document would thus legally allow free access to US personnel, who number in South Korea 28,500 units. And in the event of a crisis, the command of the South Korean forces remains the prerogative of the Armed Forces of Washington.
In addition to Pyongyang, the spread of THAAD is still being opposed by China and Russia, whose territory is not far from the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. Beijing fears the system is also spying on Chinese airspace and argues it is undermining the regional balance, along with the recent arrival of a US nuclear-powered submarine in Busan for the first time in six years.
Yoon’s shift in foreign and security policy has led to many disagreements with China which, as with Russia over Ukraine, demands protection of Pyongyang’s “legitimate security concerns”.
In recent months, the South Korean president has been at the White House receiving an extension of the nuclear umbrella from Joe Biden, who also “gave” him a singing performance of American Pie Don McClain. In recent weeks, the two countries have recalled their respective ambassadors to protest each other’s diplomatic maneuvering.
opposition South Korea took the opportunity to restrain itself: Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung met with the Chinese ambassador to Seoul, Cheng Haiming, and blamed the Yun administration for the bilateral tensions.
The conservative president is also in the sights of the opposition and many South Koreans for the thaw with Japan, which has led to the delight of America and the price of abandoning demands for compensation for the victims of colonial-era abuses. But, as developments in the Thad neighborhood show, the path we’ve taken is clear. It is even dangerous for some.
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