Are you glad for THAAD?
Japan and South Korea are, China and Russia are not.
THAAD is the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system now being deployed in South Korea.
It comes one day after North Korea launched four missiles (in violation of United Nations resolutions) that landed in the Sea of Japan. Some of its neighbors are expressing concern while others are outraged.
The missile launch angered Japan and South Korea, but both China and Russia seem more alarmed over U.S. deployment of THAAD than Pyongyang’s provocative and dangerous action.
The Russians worry the THAAD system could be used against them.
One Russian defense official calls it “another provocation against Russia under the guise of a North Korean threat. They want, if not to close the ring around Russia, then at least to besiege it from the west and the east.”
This video shows Monday’s NK missile launch:
China opposes the THAAD deployment because it could undermine its own ballistic missile capabilities and says the U.S. must bear the consequences of its deployment.
But China has done little to prevent North Korea from moving forward with its own nuclear and missile development programs, so the Pentagon says it has no choice but to begin deployment of the THAAD system in South Korea.
The Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security commits the United States to act to secure the region. The THAAD missile defense system will protect U.S. allies from Kim Jong-Un’s craziness.
What is the THAAD system, and why is it crucial to the security of U.S. allies South Korea and Japan?
Last summer, CBN News Asia Correspondent Lucille Talusan visited South Korea and filed this report.
Take a look: