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在线翻译:
szdaily -> Opinion -> 
THAAD deployment may open Pandora’s Box
    2016-08-22  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

    Winton Dong

    dht620@sina.com

    SOUTH KOREA and the United States reached an agreement last month to deploy one battery of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in the South Korean county of Seongju by the end of 2017 despite strong oppositions from neighboring countries.

    One THAAD battery is said to be composed of six mobile launchers, 48 interceptors, an X-band radar and a fire control system. X-band radar is known to emit strong microwaves that are detrimental to humans. It is also an environmental hazard, boosting concerns about farming in Seongju county, which is largely an agricultural area about 250 km southeast of Seoul.

    Enraged by the bad news, local residents have since held candlelight rallies to protest the THAAD deployment in their hometown. Under great pressure, the South Korean Government said several days ago that the deployment site can be reconsidered if a new one proves more appropriate. However, the new site must also be found within the county.

    With the imminent deployment of the THAAD system on its soil, South Korea is about to open Pandora’s Box. Such a dangerous move will not only hurt its own economy and politics, but also break the geopolitical balance on the Korean Peninsula and damage the security interests of China and Russia.

    Since the THAAD deployment was announced on July 8, sales forecasts for South Korean firms have turned dismal, as most of them depend heavily on Chinese tourists and consumers for revenue. According to Samsung Securities, 10 major China-dependent South Korean companies lost 11.2 trillion won (US$10 billion) in stock value last month. SM Entertainment, the company that manages many Hallyu or “Korean Wave” stars, tumbled the most among the 10 stocks dropping by 26.7 percent in the cited period. Moreover, the country’s exports to China, the world second-largest economy, also declined by 9.3 percent in July.

    Hit by lousy exports, manufacturers in South Korea, the country’s most important export engine, cut 65,000 jobs in July. Growing unemployment will surely lead to political instability and may very well shake the ruling basis of the Saenuri Party. In North Gyeongsang province, a traditional home ground for President Park Geun-hye and the ruling party, where the U.S. THAAD system is to be located, Park’s approval rating on July 31 tumbled 14.8 percentage points from a month earlier to 27.7 percent.

    Moreover, on Aug. 8, six first-term lawmakers of the main opposition Minju Party visited China because they were against the deployment of THAAD. During their three-day stay in China, the lawmakers irritated the South Korean Government by exchanging opinions with South Korean correspondents and Chinese experts. Park denounced their visit, saying it split public opinion further over the THAAD issue.

    

    Besides domestic turmoil, South Korea will shut the door to peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula by allowing the deployment of THAAD on its territory. As we know, if North and South Koreas gradually ease tension, it will be very difficult for Washington to justify its military presence and fortification in South Korea. That is why the U.S. always discourages Seoul from talks and insists on war drills and armament deployment.

    China and Russia have also strongly objected to the deployment of THAAD in South Korea as it will damage the national interests of the two countries. Seoul claims it will adopt the X-band radar with a detectable range of 600-800 km, but it can be converted at any time into a range of at least 2,000 km, thus making it capable of peering into Chinese and Russian territories easily. Facing common threat of THAAD, China and Russia, along with other regional countries, will have no choice but to work together to address the issue.

    The only beneficiary of the THAAD deployment in South Korea is the United States. Will the South Korean Government make such a misjudgment, at the cost of its own security, to violate the core interests of two strong neighbors, and only for the benefits of America?

    (The author is the editor-in-chief of the Shenzhen Daily and guest professor of Shenzhen University with a Ph.D. from the Journalism and Communication School of Wuhan University.)

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