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China-Japan-Koreas
S. Korea, China spar over U.S. missile-defense system
2014-11-29
Security experts of South Korea and China clashed Friday over a possible deployment of an advanced U.S. missile-defense system on South Korean soil, highlighting a long-standing rift between Seoul and Beijing despite their growing warmth on bilateral ties.

South Korea has officially disavowed its intention to join or host the U.S. missile-defense system known as the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, but the Pentagon has said it is considering deploying it in South Korea to better defend against missile threats from North Korea. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea.
If the Chinese were to "deal with" North Korea in a definitive way there'd be no need for THAAD, or even U.S. troops, on the Korean peninsula. Perhaps the Chinese and South Koreans could find a way...
China's opposition to a deployment of the THAAD battery in South Korea has been well known, but the disagreement at a forum, jointly hosted by the South Korean Consulate General in Shanghai and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, again proved how it is difficult for South Korea and China to develop common security interests in Northeast Asia.

Liu Ming, deputy head of the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai institute, told the forum that a deployment of the advanced U.S. missile-defense system in South Korea would "pose a threat" to China's security interests because its radar system can monitor military facilities in China.

Nam Sung-wook, a professor of North Korean studies at Seoul-based Korea University, hit back at the Chinese opposition, saying that South Korea can't intercept a North Korean missile flying at an altitude higher than 100 kilometers. Nam, who also serves as a policy adviser at South Korea's defense ministry, said South Korea "can't help but deploying" the THAAD battery because the country's security is under threat from North Korea's missiles.

Nam called on China to "play a more active role" in persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program.

Earlier this week, the Chinese ambassador to South Korea, Qiu Guohong, warned that, if South Korea allows the U.S. to deploy the THAAD battery on its soil, it would hurt Seoul-Beijing relations, a South Korean lawmaker said after meeting him.
Posted by:Steve White