The South Korean-U.S. decision to deploy Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula has triggered strong opposition from China and Russia. Washington has ulterior motives behind THAAD, the dangers of which are worth exploring.
Using North Korea's nuclear ambition as an excuse, the U.S.' real intention is to squeeze the strategic space of China and Russia. The monitoring scope of THAAD goes far beyond the defense needs of the peninsula and reaches deep into the hinterland of Asia, posing a direct threat to Beijing and Moscow. The White House is attempting to use the THAAD system as a tool to tie up South Korea, and establish a U.S.-dominated Asian version of NATO. The U.S. also wants to further strengthen its anti-missile weapon systems in the region.
South Korea, on the other hand, is very concerned about North Korea's nuclear attempts. Once war breaks out, Seoul could hardly defend itself, and therefore has to stand closely with the U.S. and satisfy all the U.S. demands in exchange for security support.
But this will drag Seoul into a vicious circle. The U.S. intervention in the form of the THAAD deployment will only push up the current tensions on the peninsula and enormously upset Pyongyang, and consequentially prompt North Korea to speed up its military buildup. The mutual reinforcement between the two sides will worsen the already grim situation, posing higher security risks to Seoul. As a result, South Korea will not gain any benefits, but instead face increasing security threats and potential harm.
The THAAD system is a huge strategic deterrent to China and Russia, hence they are firmly opposed to its deployment. Deploying such a military system to address the North Korean nuclear issue, which should have been settled by peaceful means, will definitely stir up troubles and enhance the chances of conflicts breaking out in Northeast Asia. This is extremely harmful to regional peace and stability.
In this sense, following the deployment of THAAD, Northeast Asia may be divided into two confrontational camps - one directed by the U.S., Japan, South Korea and the other by China, Russia and North Korea, a situation that the White House is aiming for.
With good economic and political ties, the China-South Korea relationship has been steadily developing in recent years. But the deployment of THAAD will result in political distrust between Beijing and Seoul. The U.S. is happy to see a strained China-South Korea relationship to facilitate its regional hegemony. The Six-Party Talks will therefore be significantly jeopardized and severely restrained as well, making North Korean nuclear issue trickier to tackle with.
Given the above, the Chinese side has explicitly expressed its concerns about and oppositions to the THAAD system. With its advanced anti-missile system, China has the capabilities to handle the current security risks.
In the next step, we still need to set the Six-Party Talks as basis for negotiations and encourage all concerned parties to sit down at the negotiation table for the sake of regional security. After all, negotiations are the fundamental solution to maintaining peace and stability in the region. Confrontation will only make the issue more complicated and harder to address.
In the meantime, we should continue to strengthen economic and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides to help address the issue. Think tanks should play a more active role to make the public voice and will reach top officials.
It is true that a small number of citizens may launch a boycott of South Korean products in the protest against the THAAD deployment. But we must avoid radical nationalist sentiments since they will be of no help in easing tensions. The authorities should create favorable conditions for negotiations, and meanwhile the public should be rational in expressing their patriotic sentiments, and take effective measures to settle the issue.
Li Jie, the author, is a Beijing-based military expert.
