The Korean government has realized that the only card the protesters of the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system have to play is that the electromagnetic waves from the radar will harm people.  This is a well used tactic by leftists protesters and their media allies which worked brilliantly for them in 2008 when they passed off lies about US beef that nearly toppled then President Lee Myung-Bak:

The U.S. military will open its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) base in Guam to the South Korean media next week in an effort to dispel concerns here over deployment of the anti-missile system, according to military sources, Wednesday.

“The U.S. Army will open its THAAD facilities in Guam to South Korean journalists from July 17 to 19,” a military official said. “It will help them understand how the battery is operated and address any concerns about safety issues.”

It is the first time the U.S. Army has allowed foreign media access to the THAAD facilities, according to the official.

The South Korean military said journalists from seven outlets, including Hankyoreh and the Chosun Ilbo, will visit the base.

The move is seen as an attempt to quell controversy in South Korea over a THAAD deployment and ease public concerns over potentially harmful electromagnetic waves from the X-band radar that comes with the system. [Korea Times]

Here is the part of the article that I have been saying for months, the ROK already has air defense radars deployed around the country and no one protested them:

“Questions over harmful effects of electromagnetic waves emitted from THAAD’s X-band radar have been raised,” a defense ministry official said. “But they are no stronger than patriot or green pine radar. We are hoping to ease safety concerns surrounding the THAAD system.”

You can read more at the link.

As far as what I have read in the media USFK has never publicly said that the THAAD deployment to South Korea was intended to defend Seoul.  The deployment has always been pitched as adding protection against longer range missiles the North Koreans have fielded that the Patriot missile system cannot intercept.  North Korea is not going to use a long range missile on Seoul when shorter range missiles and artillery can strike the capitol city.  Where they would use their longer range missiles is against Busan thus why THAAD needs to be positioned in the southern area of the Korean peninsula:

Along with the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system to South Korea, military authorities are working on a separate missile defense plan to protect Seoul and the surrounding area from attack by Pyongyang.

A high-ranking Korean military official told the JoongAng Ilbo on Monday, “There is a high likelihood that the final site for the Thaad system, which Korea and the U.S. are deciding on now, may be a location that might make it difficult to protect the Seoul metropolitan area, so we are making preparations.”

A working group established by Seoul and Washington to discuss the placement of the U.S. Forces Korea anti-missile system began in March. During the initial discussion over where to place a Thaad battery, Korea proposed a site in the central region. Washington preferred a more southern site to cover Busan, the site of the U.S. Naval Forces Korea headquarters, and its other military assets.

One government official familiar with the negotiation process over Thaad said, “The United States has said that the Thaad battery had to be out of reach of North Korea’s new 300 multiple rocket launch system, which has a range of 200 kilometers (124 miles), and in an emergency situation, should protect U.S. military personnel.”

The official continued, “The specific location cannot be revealed, but to my knowledge, the Thaad will be deployed to a southern-central region so that in case of an emergency it can protect the Busan port and other areas that will be used by U.S. troops from North Korea’s missile attack.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

If you are an E-5 or below in Japan life is still going to sort of suck for you if you like to stay out late:

Junior enlisted servicemembers stationed in Japan must now be accompanied after 10 p.m. when drinking alcoholic beverages off base, according to a new U.S. Forces Japan liberty policy.

The policy, which replaces a 2014 version, also creates three new operational levels that allow commanders to place varying restrictions on movement and alcohol consumption.

The changes follow a series of arrests in Japan that last month sparked one of the largest protests against the U.S. military in decades on Okinawa, where half of all U.S. servicemembers are stationed.

“Acts of indiscipline or criminal behavior by U.S. military personnel adversely impact international relations, tarnish the image of the United States military and affect our military readiness,” said an order signed by Lt. Gen. John Dolan, USFJ commander.

Servicemembers in pay grades E-5 and below who drink off base after 10 p.m. must go out with another servicemember, Defense Department civilian worker or DOD family member; if they drink with someone else, that person should be command approved, according to the policy.

Servicemembers in all ranks are banned from drinking alcoholic beverages off base between midnight and 5 a.m., a rule instituted as part of the 2014 policy. In pay grades E-5 and below, a 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. curfew remains in effect.

For junior enlisted servicemembers on temporary duty in Japan, the restrictions are tighter; the new policy requires them to have a “liberty buddy” even if they aren’t drinking, if they go off base after 10 p.m.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

And by BREAKING, they mean "something China has said over and over since at least 2015." https://t.co/eNGwMXWaUy

— Erik Slavin (@eslavin_stripes) July 13, 2016

This photo, released by the Cheorwon municipal government on July 11, 2016, shows holidaymakers shooting the rapids on Hantan River in the town of Cherwon near South Korea’s central front line with North Korea. Rafting on the river has become popular as people are seeking ways to beat the summer heat. (Yonhap)

That is what editorial writer Oh Young-jin for the Korea Times thinks:

The ongoing controversy over the terminal high-altitude area defense (THAAD), the U.S.-made missile defense system, has similarities with the mad cow crisis.

The THAAD case could be as explosive in its consequences as the U.S. beef case. Already, the citizens of the areas that are reported to be on the shortlist of candidates are up in arms, some organizing committees and others pressuring their political representatives. It is the exhibition of the selfish “not-in-my-backyard” mentality. But they can’t be blamed for not wanting to be targeted by the first wave of North Korean attacks that concentrate on strategic military assets such as THAAD or the expected losses in their property values.

Making their protests as political as the mad cow protests is the fact that the country is about to enter an election cycle ahead of the December 2017 presidential poll. Buffeted in not-so-small measures by the THAAD brouhaha, President Park Geun-hye saw her approval ratings fall dramatically. Especially noteworthy is the record low of popular support in her regional power centers in North Gyeongsang Province and Daegu. Chilgok and Waegwan, both in North Gyeongsang Province, are reportedly included on the shortlist.

Even if the THAAD controversy doesn’t lead to the massive protests that the U.S. beef incident did, a strong impact could be felt at the ballot boxes. Already, lawmakers from Park’s governing Saenuri Party are agitated, with some making clear their opposition to the THAAD development. Certainly in their calculus are more minuses than pluses for the chances of their party’s standard bearer to win the December 2017 election.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but what Oh Young-jin misses is that despite the protests created by the lies about US beef pushed by leftist groups and their media allies South Korean conservatives still won the next election.  This largely because the lies were exposed for what they were.  The protests against THAAD are the same thing people pushing lies.  Just like other radars, the THAAD system has a safe keep out zone that the military will position so that it will not harm anyone.  The ROK military currently has Patriot and Green Pine radars positioned around the country and we saw no protests about those because there was no political incentive to lie about the safety of those radars like we are seeing with THAAD.

The UNCLOS ruling was expected to rule in favor of the Philippines, but I think no one expected it to be this much of harsh rebuke against China:

An international tribunal in The Hague delivered a sweeping rebuke on Tuesday of China’s behavior in the South China Sea, including its construction of artificial islands, and found that its expansive claim to sovereignty over the waters had no legal basis.

The landmark case, brought by the Philippines, was seen as an important crossroads in China’s rise as a global power and in its rivalry with the United States, and it could force Beijing to reconsider its assertive tactics in the region or risk being labeled an international outlaw. It was the first time the Chinese government had been summoned before the international justice system.

In its most significant finding, the tribunal rejected China’s argument that it enjoys historic rights over most of the South China Sea. That could give the governments of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam more leverage in their own maritime disputes with Beijing.

The tribunal also said that China had violated international law by causing “irreparable harm” to the marine environment, endangering Philippine ships and interfering with Philippine fishing and oil exploration.

“It’s an overwhelming victory. We won on every significant point,” said the Philippines’ chief counsel in the case, Paul S. Reichler.

But while the decision is legally binding, there is no mechanism for enforcing it, and China, which refused to participate in the tribunal’s proceedings, reiterated on Tuesday that it would not abide by it.

Speaking at a meeting with European leaders, President Xi Jinping was defiant, reasserting China’s claim to sovereignty over the South China Sea “since ancient times,” the state-run People’s Daily reported. His remarks echoed a statement from the Foreign Ministry. The tribunal’s decision “is invalid and has no binding force,” the ministry said. “China does not accept or recognize it.”  [NY Times]

You can read much more at the link, but first of all as the court pointed out Chinese historical claims to the SCS are ridiculous.  Should the Mongolians put in a claim for the parts of China and central Asia they once controlled?  Maybe the Koreans should put in a claim to the parts of northeast China they once controlled as well?

It will be interesting though to see what China does in response.  Considering how much nationalism the communist regime has put into their South China Sea claims they will have to do something.  The easiest thing would be to declare an ADIZ; the most provocative would be to start land reclamation at the Scarborough Shoal which they stole from the Philippines and the international court confirmed.  The Scarborough Shoal is just off the coast of the Philippines and building a base there would put potential US assets based in the Philippines at risk.

So what does the US do in response?  I can’t imagine anyone wants a war over this and the Chinese know this so what is to stop them from moving forward with their consolidation of the SCS?  There needs to be an asymmetric response and the recent approval to sell US weapons to Vietnam is a perfect example.  Determining weapons that could be sold to other regional countries in response to Chinese provocations could be a strategy to think about.

I have always wondered why the environmentalists are not involved in this?  The international court confirmed the Chinese are destroying a fragile eco-system with their scorched earth fishing and dredging in the SCS.  Where is Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace?  This is actually an area I would support them protesting instead of non-endangered whales.  The environmentalists could bring international attention and embarrassment against what the Chinese are doing in the SCS.

Anyone else have any ideas and how the international community should respond to China’s now confirmed illegal territorial grab in the South China Sea?

For some reason I think Lee Boo-jin can afford better lawyers than her husband which means I doubt her ex-husband will ever see the trillion won he is trying to get out of her:

The former vice president of Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Im Woo-jae, has made the highest divorce settlement claim in Korean history, demanding 1.2 trillion won ($1.04 billion) from his ex-wife, Lee Boo-jin, the Samsung heiress and CEO of Hotel Shilla.

Im reportedly filed for divorce with the Seoul Family Court on June 29. In addition to his unprecedented demand, he asked for 10 million won in alimony and custody of their 9-year-old son.

Lee Boo-jin, the eldest daughter of the bedridden Samsung chairman, Lee Kun-hee, applied for a divorce settlement and parental rights with the Suwon District Court in October 2014. She filed for divorce in the summer of 2015 after two rounds of failed settlements with Im, who refused to accept her demands, claiming he wants to keep the family together.

The court granted parental and custodial rights to Lee in January, and Im was given the right to meet with his son once a month from 2 p.m. on a Saturday until 5 p.m. the next day.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but I like how Im Woo-jae after demanding a trillion won is also trying to get alimony to support their kids.  I guess a trillion won is not enough to live off of now days for the chaebol types.

https://twitter.com/pearswick/status/752439585431400448

A group of residents from Goseong near South Korea’s eastern front line with North Korea rallies in front of the government complex in Seoul on July 11, 2016, to urge the government to come up with measures to support them as they have been financially hurt by the 2008 suspension of an inter-Korean tour program to Mount Kumgang on the North’s eastern coast. The tour program, in which South Koreans visited the scenic mountain resort via an overland route in the Goseong region across the Demilitarized Zone, was abruptly halted in July 2008 after a female South Korean tourist was shot to death by a North Korean soldier. (Yonhap)