China has harshly objected to the decision to base THAAD at two sites in South Korea, claiming the system’s X-Band radar is really meant to track China’s missiles inside China. On the other hand, the US says THAAD’s objective to destroy North Korean missiles.
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US Army Chief of Staff, General Mark Milley, addressed those concerns during talks on Tuesday with his Chinese counterpart, General Li Zuocheng in Beijing.
South Korea announced in July that a USA anti-missile defence unit would be deployed in Seonjgu, in the centre of South Korea, despite fierce local opposition.
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually but, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan have adversary claims.
The United States has repeatedly tried to rebuff anger from China about Seoul’s move to host a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) unit with the USA military. China angrily rejected the verdict and has vowed to continue developing man-made islands that the US says have exacerbated tensions in the strategically crucial region.
China and the United States have been at likelihood over the disputed South China Sea as well.
The statement further explained, “Gen. Milley also reaffirmed the USA commitment to adhere to worldwide rules and standards and encouraged the Chinese to do the same as a way of reducing regional tensions”.
The visit is “aimed at understanding climate change issues as well as underscoring Taiwan’s sovereignty”, the official Central News Agency quoted Taiwanese officials as saying. Japan last week called in the Chinese ambassador to protest over a large increase in the number of Chinese coast guard and fishing ships operating in waters surrounding the islands, called Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu by China.
Beijing leaders see it as an offensive spying system that can look deep into its territory, thereby seriously threatening China’s national security.
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“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.
