Friday, August 12, 2016

China Views The U.S. Deployment Of THAAD For South Korea As A Direct Threat

Flickr/U.S. Missile Defense Agency.

Washington Times: Furious China sees U.S. missile defense plan for South Korea as direct threat

U.S. military officials are trying to pacify a furious China in the wake of Washington’s plan to deploy a battery of advanced missile defense systems in South Korea, insisting to angry military leaders in Beijing that the weapons would be solely targeting ballistic missile threats from North Korea and not undercut China’s own military deterrent.

Beijing has denounced the planned deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense weapon in South Korea and has already retaliated in ways large and small, including blocking a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning a recent North Korean missile test and canceling appearances by South Korean “K-Pop” music stars.

“If THAAD is deployed, it will sour [South Korea‘s] relations with China and Russia, trigger an arms race and damage trade,” the state-controlled China Daily newspaper wrote in an editorial Thursday. “It will make it difficult for the country to seek cooperation from China and Russia in denuclearizing the peninsula.”

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The problem is not the deployment of THAAD .... the problem is North Korea. But China does not see it that way.

6 comments:

Jay Farquharson said...

THAAD ABM system's shoot down missiles. They really don't care who's missile they are.

Add in AGEIS deployments and AGEIS Ashore, and it's pretty clear that the THAAD deployment is not about North Korea.

The Chinese are not dumb, the US is playing dumb, but fooling no one.

RRH said...

"The Chinese are not dumb, the US is playing dumb, but fooling no one."


The problem is the U.S. belief that they can do whatever they want, where ever they want. And that is dumb. Sadly, for them and their dummie puppets, there are some very strong players who strongly disagree with their outlook.


http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160812/1044182190/scarborough-shoal-red-line.html

Unknown said...

The Chinese are NOT dumb... Ever since they were reminded of their inability to exert control over their own backyard during the Taiwan Straight crisis of 96' they have dreamed of changing the status quo. From South Korea to Japan to the Philippines to Australia, China is surrounded by the U.S. military and unable to challenge any of its rivals without the fear of triggering a larger war with America. Chinese modernization over the last twenty years has conflict with the U.S. written all over it. The only ones who are "dumb" are the ones who routinely claim that trade will trump national interest for the Chinese and that they will never risk going to war with the U.S.. That is exactly what they intend to do.
A unified Korea under the DPRK will be in China's interest; that peninsula will host a portion of a broader conflict, and THAAD deployment there is a preparation for that conflict. Both the Chinese and the U.S. know that. B-1s, B-2s, and B-52s in Guam are not there for North Korea. Kim is an excuse; just like the South and East China Seas and Taiwan are excuses to see how far the U.S. is willing to go to defend its position in Asia.
The Chinese goal is to expel the U.S. from the western Pacific. If brinksmanship boils over into conflict, then the Chinese are prepared for that, psychologically, militarily, and industrially. They don't need to defeat the U.S., only make them leave - or more to the point - make it too costly to stay.
If Xi's rhetoric and stated national expectations as well as his consolidated power over the PLA, Chinese nationalist propaganda, and they way China has built up its military and infrastructure over the past twenty years are not clear indications of China's intentions, then I don't know what else will convince people.

Jay Farquharson said...

Since the 1980's, the US's Mahan Policy has been to strangle China via a sea war cutting off all imports and exports, coupled with select land invasions to seize port cities.

China's South China Sea strategy is/was to move the "fight" off shore, outside of China's coast, and allow continued Chinese trade, which they are close to achieving.

Every time there has been a major reshuffle of Global Economic Power, there has been a World War, as the loser's attempt to use their eroding military advantage, in a (ususally failed) attempt to militarially crush their economic competitors and reset the Global Economy.

China's South China Sea Policy and it's rising AD/AC abilities will soon prevent the United States starting WWIII and killing all of us in a failed attempt to prop up it's failing Global Economic Hedgemony.

RRH said...


"China's South China Sea Policy and it's rising AD/AC abilities will soon prevent the United States starting WWIII and killing all of us in a failed attempt to prop up it's failing Global Economic Hedgemony."


I would agree with your assessment Jay if a very significant percentage of Americans (not to mention Canadians, Australians, Brits) in and outside the halls of power were not batshit crazy. They really do believe in world wide Manifest Destiny and see their moment to re-assert it fast approaching.

Someone once said that the struggle with the enemy becomes more acute when they are facing defeat. It's hard to believe Chairman Xi doesn't see it this way. This is a very, very dangerous time for the entire world.

Unknown said...

So RRH, the "they" in your comment "They really do believe in world wide Manifest Destiny..." who are you talking about exactly. Because if I were Japanese, Taiwanese, Pilipino, Vietnamese, etc., I would be convinced you were talking about the Chinese as the "they".