By Kang Seung-woo
The former commander of U.S. Forces Korea, Robert Abrams, refuted China's claims that the previous South Korean administration promised to restrict the operations of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula and that the U.S. missile defense battery undermines Beijing's security interests.
In 2016, South Korea decided to deploy the U.S.-owned system on its soil due to growing North Korean nuclear and missile threats.
Since the new South Korean government was inaugurated in May, the THAAD deployment has been emerging as a contentious issue between Seoul and Beijing as President Yoon Suk-yeol has vowed to strengthen South Korea's alliance with the United States amid the intensifying strategic competition between the U.S. and China.
The latest dispute over the THAAD issue came last week as the Chinese foreign ministry claimed that the Yoon administration should abide by the "Three Nos" and "One Restriction" policy, which was announced by the preceding Moon Jae-in administration.
The Three Nos refers to no additional deployments of the anti-missile systems, no integration into a U.S.-led missile defense system and no trilateral alliance with the U.S. and Japan. The One Restriction means limiting the use of THAAD here in Korea.
Retired Army Gen. Robert Abrams, who led the USFK and the U.N. Command from 2018 to 2021, rejected the Chinese assertion about the restriction of THAAD operations.
"While I was in [South] Korea from 2018 to 2021, the THAAD system was always fully capable of conducting its defensive mission to defeat any incoming ballistic missiles and protect [South] Korean people and infrastructure along with select ROK-U.S. forces," retired Army Gen. Robert Abrams told Radio Free Asia, Thursday (local time). The ROK refers to the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name.
In response to the claim, the South Korean government maintains that the preceding administration's Three Nos policy was not a commitment to China.
As for China's repeated claims that the THAAD system's radar can spy on its military maneuvers and undermine its security interests, Abrams said the Chinese side has yet to vindicate how the missile shield infringes on its strategic security interests.
"Please explain to us how THAAD in southern ROK undermines PRC strategic security," Abrams said on Twitter, July 27. The PRC refers to the People's Republic of China.
"It is an area defensive system. Certainly, your high tech sensors can distinguish what mode the TPY-2 radar is operating in…right?" he added. The AN/TPY-2 radar serves as the eyes of the THAAD system.
Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup also told reporters, Thursday, that the THAAD radar cannot be used to intercept Chinese missiles en route to the U.S. mainland, because a mountain stands between the THAAD base and China, blocking the radar's reach in that direction.
The former commander of U.S. Forces Korea, Robert Abrams, refuted China's claims that the previous South Korean administration promised to restrict the operations of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula and that the U.S. missile defense battery undermines Beijing's security interests.
In 2016, South Korea decided to deploy the U.S.-owned system on its soil due to growing North Korean nuclear and missile threats.
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| Robert Abrams / Korea Times file |
The latest dispute over the THAAD issue came last week as the Chinese foreign ministry claimed that the Yoon administration should abide by the "Three Nos" and "One Restriction" policy, which was announced by the preceding Moon Jae-in administration.
The Three Nos refers to no additional deployments of the anti-missile systems, no integration into a U.S.-led missile defense system and no trilateral alliance with the U.S. and Japan. The One Restriction means limiting the use of THAAD here in Korea.
Retired Army Gen. Robert Abrams, who led the USFK and the U.N. Command from 2018 to 2021, rejected the Chinese assertion about the restriction of THAAD operations.
"While I was in [South] Korea from 2018 to 2021, the THAAD system was always fully capable of conducting its defensive mission to defeat any incoming ballistic missiles and protect [South] Korean people and infrastructure along with select ROK-U.S. forces," retired Army Gen. Robert Abrams told Radio Free Asia, Thursday (local time). The ROK refers to the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name.
In response to the claim, the South Korean government maintains that the preceding administration's Three Nos policy was not a commitment to China.
As for China's repeated claims that the THAAD system's radar can spy on its military maneuvers and undermine its security interests, Abrams said the Chinese side has yet to vindicate how the missile shield infringes on its strategic security interests.
"Please explain to us how THAAD in southern ROK undermines PRC strategic security," Abrams said on Twitter, July 27. The PRC refers to the People's Republic of China.
"It is an area defensive system. Certainly, your high tech sensors can distinguish what mode the TPY-2 radar is operating in…right?" he added. The AN/TPY-2 radar serves as the eyes of the THAAD system.
Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup also told reporters, Thursday, that the THAAD radar cannot be used to intercept Chinese missiles en route to the U.S. mainland, because a mountain stands between the THAAD base and China, blocking the radar's reach in that direction.
