THAAD Missiles in South Korea could spark strategic upheaval

(CCTV NEWS)ByHanXudong,professor,StrategyDepartment,NationalDefenseUniversity

Mediareportssay,US-SouthKoreabilateraltalkswillbeheldthismonthinSeoultoannouncethedeploymentofaTHAADmissiledefensesysteminSouthKorea.Theelements-contained"pendant"THAADmissiletoSouthKoreaisproliferating.

ThesubordinationoftheTHAADmissiletoSouthKoreawouldtriggeraseriesofcalamitous"chainreactions,"whichisdrawingtheworld'sattention.

DevelopedintheUS,theTHAADmissileisamobile-theaterballisticmissiledefensesystem.Itcanrealizeahighaltitudeinterceptionuptoa3,500-kilometerrangetostrikeon-comingmissiles.

Thesystemplaysastrategicrole.Currently,theAsia-Pacificregion'sstrategicmissilepatternsremainstable.ButiftheUSwoulddeployTHAADmissiles,theexistingbalancewillbealtered,whileanewbalanceisdifficulttoconstructinashorttime.

Thestrategicmissileorderintheregionmightbesetinchaos.OnceTHAADmissilesaredeployed,NortheastAsiancountries'missilepowerwillencounterdramaticchanges.

ThemissilesarecontrolledbyWashington.ThemissiledefensecapabilitiesoftheUSinthisareawillbegreatlyenhanced.Nonetheless,thiswillseriouslyweakenthemissileattackcapabilityofthenationsconcerned.TheUSalreadyhasapowerfulmissileattackcapability.

ThedeploymentwillenabletheUStooccupyadominantpositionbothinattackanddefensemissilecapabilities.Itwilldominatetheworldtomaintainitshegemony.Washingtonwouldbuildupaself-beneficial"newmissileorder."

Japanisthenationthatwillcausethemostworryfortheworld.THAADmissilesdeploymenttoSouthKoreacaneasilycausemilitarymovementsoftheDemocraticPeople'sRepublicofKorea(DPRK).

Tokyocouldalsodevelopitsmissileattackanddefensestrengthasabreakthroughfromthebondageathomeandabroad,withsuperiorscientificandtechnologicalstrength,itwillbecomeamissilestrengthpower.

Meanwhile,theuncertaintiesofJapan'smilitarydevelopmentanditspowerfulmissilecapabilitieswouldthreatensecurityintheAsia-Pacificregion.

THAADmissilesdeploymenttoSouthKoreameansthatthecombateffectivenessofthedevelopingDPRKlong-rangestrategicmissileswillbegreatlyweakened.

TheDPRKwouldlikelyenhancemissileremotefightingcapacitiesandothertechnicalmeanstomaintainitsmissilecombatcapabilitytoprotectagainstthreats.

ThestatusoftheDPRK'smissiledevelopmentwouldenteramoretreacherousstate.ItwillbemoredifficultfortheinternationalcommunitytolearnthetruthofmissiledevelopmentintheDPRK.

FromWashington'spointofview,theTHAADmissilesystemisastrategicmaneuver,andhasthecapabilitiesofweakeningtheattackmissilepowerofRussiaandChina.

OnceTHAADisdeployedtothe"doorway"ofRussiaandChina,itmeansthatthestrategiccampaignmissilesofthetwocountriesaresubjecttobeintercepted,whichwillseriouslyweakenthestrategiccapabilitiesofBeijingandMoscow.

Thetwocountrieswillnottaketheissuelightly.Tomaintaintheirstrategicinterests,theywillundertakenecessarycountermeasures.

TheUSdeploymentofTHAADmissileswillnotonlychangethestabilityoftheglobalpatternofstrategicmissiles,butalsodisruptthemissileorderintheregion.

TokyomaytaketheopportunitytodevelopitsstrategicmissileattackanddefensecapabilitiesandthrowNortheastAsiaintochaos,whileAsia-Pacificregionalsecuritymayenteraturmoilperiod.

TheUSdeploymentofTHAADmissilestoSouthKoreaisagiantstonethatarousesfiercewaves;andtherewouldbeasubstantialnegativeimpactinthefuture.