US THAAD could take down Chinese missiles from SK

Intercepting potential Chinese missile attacks over the East China Sea is one of the capabilities the US would gain if it successfully deploys its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System to South Korea, according to the party mouthpiece Global Times.

The defense system, also known as THAAD, is an air missile designed by Lockheed Martin as part of the US Theater Missile Defense system in the Asia-Pacific Region. With the help of the AN/TPY-2 X-band radar, the THAAD is able to detect and intercept ballistic missiles launched more than 1,000km away. Its range would extend over the East China Sea and could be used to intercept missiles from China. 

Last year, the United States tried to convince South Korea to join the Theater Missile Defense system through allowing the deployment of the X-band radar to the island of Baengnyeongdo, which sits on the border between the North and South Korea. 

The idea was turned down by South Korea's defense minister Kim Kwan-jin over concerns that the deployment would irritate Beijing and lead it to believe that the country was trying to contain China in an alliance with Japan and the US, according to the Seoul Shinmun.

The range of the air defense system fars exceeds North Korean territory, leading professor Kim Hung-gyu from Seoul's Sungshin Womens University to believe the US is trying to provoke South Korea into conflict with Beijing. This would make South Korea a pawn in a US-Japan crusade against China, according to Kim.