Running for South Korean President in 2017, former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that he backs installing Lockheed Martin’s Terminal High-Altitude Arial Defense [THAAD], something North Korea and China consider an act of war. President Barack Obama was reluctant Jul 8, 2016 to install THAAD given strong objections from China. Installing the eight-year-old missile defense program in South Korea has repercussions for U.S.-Beijing relations. With all the talk recently focused on Russian interference in the 2016 election, China has moved swiftly building illegal military installations in shallow Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. When President-elect Donald Trump takes office Jan. 20, China’s going to be put on notice that it can’t continue its illegal island-building. Implementing THAAD in Seoul guarantees confrontation with Beijing.
Retiring from the U.N. and expected to run against South Korean President Park-Geun-hye, Ban showed strong support for THAAD. North Korean 32-year-old Chairman Kim Jong-un warned the U.S. and South Korea Jan. 2 about his impeding development of a nuclear-armed Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles [ICBM], prompting Ban to throw his full support to installing the THAAD missile defense system. “Since the reality is the Korean Peninsula is in a quasi-war-like state, such action made by the government is appropriate,” Ban told South Korea’s Yonghap News Agency. THAAD missile defense provides insurance against North Korean threats of an intermediate or ICBM attack. When Trump takes office, his new Defense Secretary Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis won’t kowtow to China’s threats, ordering full installation of THAAD missile defense in South Korea.
Unlike China that’s been known recently to parade its new Aircraft carrier in the South China Sea, the THAAD system is purely defensive, designed to deter incoming missile attacks. China threatened Obama in July 2016 to retaliate if the U.S. went ahead with installing THAAD missile defense in Seoul. Ban emphasized, “he understands THAAD deployment is made as a defensive measure, as ultimately North Korea is developing nuclear missiles and accumulating ballistic missile technology.” Ban talks tough now that he’s running for South Korean president, adopting a position close to Trump. While at the U.N., Ban was known for his peacemaking, not potentially confronting adversaries like North Korea or Communist China. With 28,500 troops stationed in Korean Peninsula, the demilitarized zone faces constant threats from Kim Jong-un’s Stalinist regime.
Nowhere on the planet is the contrast greater than between capitalist South Korea and the Communist North. Ranked 11th in 2016 world GDP, South Korea has a $1.4 trillion economy. In contrast, North Korea ranks 125th in world GDP, with a 40 billion economy. Unable to feed its 29.4 million people, North Korean spends a good part of its GDP on the military, supporting 1.2 million-man army about the same size as the U.S. Kim routinely threatens war on the Korean Peninsula, blaming the U.S. for threatening the People’s Republic of North Korea. Ban’s support of THAAD missile defense suggests strongly that he’s willing to confront China over its right to deploy effective missile defense. Trump’s foreign policy team, led by Secretary of State designee Rex Tillerson, wants improved relations with Moscow to deal with emerging threats from North Korea and elsewhere.
Obama’s recent move to send 3,500 U.S. troops to Poland puts one more nail in U.S.-Russian relations. Russian President Vladimir Putin looks ahead to a Trump presidency to reset U.S.-Russian relations. Too timid to announce THAAD missile defense in South Korea, Obama has even more reservations about getting on the same page with Putin. Using Putin’s March 1, 2014 invasion of Crimea as an excuse to bludgeon U.S.-Russian relations, Obama doesn’t see the linkage between close U.S.-Russian relations and dealing with hotspots around the globe. Despite his detractors on Capitol Hill, Trump sees the big picture of improving U.S.-Russian relations. He knows that dealing with China and North Korea requires strong U.S.-Russian relations, something that Obama ignored. Trump intends to back a strong defense, including installing THAAD missile where needed.
Agreeing to THAAD missile defense system, Ban showed he’s getting on the same page as the Trump White House. “There is the issue of relations with neighboring countries. This problem can be solved diplomatically,” Ban said, encouraging improved relations but knowing the importance of missile defense. THAAD missile defense systems give South Korea some breathing room while world power seek to de-fang North Korea from taking over the Korean Peninsula. With Trump coming onboard, the U.S. and its allies will display strength in the face of adversity, even when threatened by the big-bad worlds of Pyongyang and Beijing. Installing missile defense sends a strong message to adversaries that the U.S. will stop at nothing to help its allies and prevent the world from a takeover by aggressive actors. Missile defense is only one part of Trump’s defense strategy.
