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]
This just proves that the Chinese government is using North Korea to drive a wedge between the US and the ROK. Declaring peace with North Korea would mean an end to the reason for the existence of US Force Korea (USFK) which is what the Chinese and North Koreans both want. If China wants a more normal relationship how about they have North Korea stop threatening to nuke the US or turn South Korea into a Sea of Fire? Or how about they get them to stop launching deadly provocations against South Korea and comply with United Nations resolutions?
Chair for the foreign affairs committee of China’s National People’s Congress Fu Ying speaks at the Munich Security Conference.PHOTO: EPA
The US and North Korea need to formally declare an end to 76 years of hostility if the international community wants North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to stop developing nuclear weapons, a top Chinese foreign policy official said.
“North Korea and the US still have not made peace, they’ve been in an extended cease-fire,” said Fu Ying, who chairs the foreign affairs committee of China’s National People’s Congress.
“You need to think how to bring an end to the war and enter a more normal relationship.” [The Straits Times]
You can read more at the link, but in the fantasy land of peace in our time with North Korea does anyone really think the Kim regime would stop their provocations against South Korea? Without the backing of the US, the provocations would likely get worse and more threatening. The Kim regime has never accepted the legitimacy of the ROK and continue to be postured and train for the forceful reunification of the peninsula.
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]
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.
This week the ROK Defense Minister stated for the first time openly that South Korea should consider the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system:
Defense Minister Han Min-koo has echoed the need to consider the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense(THAAD) battery to the Korean Peninsula.
Appearing on a local television program late Monday, Han said that the deployment of THAAD to South Korea must be reviewed from a national security angle.
This is the first time that Han has openly debated over the missile interception system, fueling speculation that South Korea and the U.S. could open talks over the deployment in the coming weeks. [KBS World Radio]
Here is how the Chinese responded this week to the increased speculation of Seoul considering the deployment of THAAD to Korea:
In an editorial Wednesday, Chinese state-media, the Global Times, claimed that the deployment of THAAD to the Korean Peninsula would hurt trust between Seoul and Beijing.
If anything is hurting trust between the two countries it is the Chinese allowing the Kim regime to continuously threaten South Korea with nuclear weapons, missiles and other deadly provocations with no consequences from Beijing. The Chinese could build trust and likely stop the deployment of THAAD if they implemented the sanctions the US has been asking for in response to North Korea’s continuous provocations.
It looks like the Chinese are attempting to stop the expected North Korean rocket launch by sending an envoy to North Korea which was likely prompted by reports that the ROK was considering deploying the THAAD missile defense system to Korea:
China’s top nuclear envoy made a surprise visit to North Korea on Tuesday, a news report said, amid rising tensions over the North’s fourth nuclear test last month.
Wu Dawei, China’s top delegate to the long-stalled six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program, flew into Pyongyang in the afternoon, Japan’s Kyodo News agency reported.
China is currently under international pressure to exert its leverage on North Korea to make sure Pyongyang ends its nuclear program.
Wu is expected to meet with North Korean officials over the Jan. 6 nuclear test, which Pyongyang claims was a successful detonation of a hydrogen bomb.
The test has raised security tensions in the region to a new high, with the U.N. Security Council pushing to adopt another sanctions resolution against Pyongyang.
South Korea appears to be inching closer to introducing an advanced U.S. missile defense system to counter the threats posed by North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs. [Yonhap]
Until the Chinese government changes its mind that a nuclear North Korea is a less a threat than a destabilized North Korea they are going to continue to stop harsh sanctions against the Kim regime. This ultimately only encourages the Kim regime to advance their nuclear and missile programs and commit further provocations:
Apart from the more hard-line thinkers in Washington, virtually no one wants to have to deal with what might happen if concerted international action were to actually destabilize Kim Jong Un’s regime, however strongly they may feel about its human rights record, authoritarian government and militantly defiant attitude toward Washington, Tokyo, Seoul and anyone else it sees as a threat.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry ran into that wall this week during talks in Beijing with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. After meeting for more than four hours Wednesday, Kerry expressed his frustration with what the United States sees as China’s failure to do more to rein in Pyongyang, noting that “more significant and impactful sanctions were put in place against Iran, which did not have a nuclear weapon than against North Korea, which does.”
“All nations, particularly those who seek a global leadership role, or have a global leadership role, have a responsibility to deal with this threat,” Kerry said.
In response, Wang said China, which is North Korea’s most important ally, chief trading partner and a key source of economic assistance, agreed on the need for a new U.N. resolution. But he suggested Beijing would not support new penalties even though it condemned the Jan. 6 test.
“Sanctions are not an end in themselves,” Wang said bluntly. “The new resolution should not provoke new tension in the situation, still less destabilize the Korean Peninsula.” [Associated Press]
