In the Republic of Korea, more than 900 residents of Song-jew County shaved their heads to protest plans to deploy a US missile defense system in the area.
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Milley reiterated the American position that the defense system is meant to destroy possible North Korean missiles and not to track missiles inside China.
China and Russia have strongly objected to the United States anti-missile system deployed in South Korea as the AN/TPY-2 radar can snoop on Chinese and Russian territories, breaking the regional strategic balance and damaging their security interests.
Milley will receive an update on plans to deploy one Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) battery on South Korean soil, his office said.
South Korea has been trying harder to deter and respond to Pyongyang’s missile provocations, … especially in the light of the North’s seemingly incorrigible drive for nuclear weapons.
For China, the THAAD system is far more than just an anti-ballistic missile entity of a defensive nature.
Gen. Milley’s visit to China follows a visit earlier this summer by Adm. John Richardson, the US chief of naval operations, as well as White House national security adviser Susan Rice.
Next month, South Korea will equip its guided bombs with supposedly “jam-proof” Global Positioning System technology from the USA military to more effectively counter the North’s long-range multiple rockets.
Described by U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter as “a warrior and a statesman”, Gen. Milley will meet with senior officers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) led by Gen. Fang Fenghui, Chief of Joint Staff and a member of the Central Military Commission.
But the decision has come under fire by state media in China, where there is high concern the system is meant to track Chinese missiles.
The South Korean defense ministry has vowed to minimize any impact from THAAD on residents and the environment.
“The truth of the matter is, THAAD was really the logical choice and after intense debate and trying to assess what the complexities of the environment might hold to include the perceptions that the Chinese might have, we really can’t get in a world where we refuse to defend ourselves”, Gen. Jacoby added.
It is part of his August 15-23 trip to South Korea, China, Japan and Hawaii to visit his Asian counterparts, senior officials and US Pacific Command leaders.
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South Korea and Japan should build a new future-oriented relationship while squarely looking at history, South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Monday.
