 |
| X-Band radar (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons) |
By Clint Richards
The U.S. transfer of high-end hardware seeks to put China in an ever-shrinking security box.
Over the past week China has criticized the U.S. for deploying new missile defense radar and for considering the deployment of advanced missile defense systems in Northeast Asia. While both of these deployments can ostensibly be considered necessary in light of continued ballistic missile testing and the threat of yet another nuclear test from North Korea, their applicability toward Beijing is obvious. While China can do little to directly prevent their deployment, the moves highlight China’s growing military presence in the East China Sea, and the increasing friction encountered by U.S. and Japanese forces in the region.
China reacted last week for the first time to Washington’s proposed deployment of its Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missiles to South Korea. The chief envoy to the six-party talks for China, Xu Bu, said the U.S. attempts to “strengthen its military presence in Northeast Asia… would spark strong dissatisfaction from North Korea,” and that “nothing can be resolved unless we do negotiations,” according to Yonhap News.
There is still some question as to whether Seoul will agree to the deployment. On Thursday, the two allies decided to indefinitely postpone the transfer of wartime operations to South Korea. Some experts believe that the U.S. will use the delay as leverage to force Seoul to forgo the development of its own indigenous Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) in favor of the THAAD system. However, China has told South Korea that joining the U.S. missile defense system would cross a “red line” in their bilateral relationship.
Read the full story at The Diplomat