Signs South Korea and China can bury THAAD
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told lawmakers on Monday that the country is not considering any additional deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence anti-missile system. She also reiterated that South Korea will not be part of US-led missile defence networks.
Such remarks are valuable because they suggest Seoul has heeded Beijing’s security concerns and is taking steps to get their strained relations back on track.
Kang’s remarks follow other signs of a thaw in bilateral relations. Seoul’s chief representative in the Six-Party Talks is in Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart, one week after the first talks in nearly two years were held between the two countries’ defence chiefs at a security forum in the Philippines.
A meeting has also reportedly been set for Chinese President Xi Jinping and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam on November 10-11.
China has always opposed the deployment of THAAD in South Korea as part of missile defence networks the US is trying to establish, because its powerful radar can probe deep into the country and harm its national security. Yet it has never wavered in seeking to resolve the diplomatic dispute by maintaining close communications and exchanges with the South Korea. Beijing understands the Seoul’s security concerns regarding the latest development on the Korean Peninsula.
That China and South Korea are pursuing ways to improve their relations shows that their common interests outweigh their differences and that the two neighbours share a desire to turn the page.
This is timely since growing tensions between Pyongyang and Washington threaten to become more than just a war of words. At such a critical time, Beijing and Seoul can work together to be a voice of reason. Amid the escalating war of rhetoric being fought between Pyongyang and Washington, Beijing and Seoul stand in the same trench calling for the same thing: the maintaining of regional peace and stability.
The rapport they seem to have regained is testament to the resilience of their relations, which have brought real benefits to the people of both countries since the establishment of diplomatic ties 25 years ago. China hopes South Korea will fulfil the commitments it has made. Both sides should treasure and strengthen this hard-won strategic and cooperative partnership.
