ed Korea-China military ties

Missile shield decision must be based on national interests

South Korea and China agreed to establish a military hotline before June at the earliest during a meeting of the nations’ defense ministers held in Seoul Wednesday. If this plan is fulfilled, it will be Seoul’s third military hotline, additional to those with the United States and Japan.

Given that China has been reluctant about the hotline so far, the agreement is a welcome development that could help prevent accidental military clashes. As one official of the South Korean Defense Ministry put it, “establishing a military hotline with China that can exercise influence on the North Korean military will contribute a great deal to maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula.’’

The neighboring countries also confirmed their position on the denuclearization of the peninsula and agreed to settle the problem through dialogue and cooperation, according to the Defense Ministry.

The visit to Seoul by Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Chang Wanquan ― the first Chinese defense chief to come here in nine years ― will certainly signal an elevated level of military cooperation between the two countries.

But drawing our attention is that Chang expressed concern about the possible deployment of America’s advanced antiballistic missile defense system in South Korea during the talks. The issue was not an agenda item that the two countries had previously agreed to, but the Chinese defense head raised the issue at the meeting.

In response, Defense Minister Han Min-koo reaffirmed Seoul’s position that the U.S. neither made a decision on the deployment nor made a request to South Korea. He also confirmed that there had been no discussion on the issue between Seoul and Washington.

The deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile battery has been a sensitive issue because both China and Russia have claimed that it is against their security interests. In particular, the two countries have shown sensitive reactions to the X-band radar of the THAAD system designed to detect, track and identify ballistic missile threats at long distances and at very high altitudes.

China has made numerous protests about the possible deployment of the advanced missile defense system, but this is the first time that the Chinese defense minister has officially expressed such concerns to Seoul. This is proof that the world’s most populous country has strong interest in the issue.

All this raises the need for the incumbent administration to decide how it would act when the U.S. officially requests the deployment of the missile defense system in South Korea and how it could convince China of the inevitability of the deployment. At the same time, Seoul will need to convince Beijing that the battery won’t target China.

What’s clear is that it’s our sovereign rights to seek the best missile defense system for the sake of our survival and security at a time when North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats remain unabated. If Beijing had acted resolutely to pressure Pyongyang to forsake nuclear and missile development programs, there would have been no reason for China to be concerned with the deployment of the THAAD system.

It’s needless to repeat the importance of closer ties between Seoul and Beijing, but all policies should be based on what is best for our national interest. The government should deal with the missile shield issue with clear principles.