By Jun Ji-hye



A senior ruling party lawmaker criticized China, Monday, for applying a double standard regarding the possible deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery by the United States in Korea.



Rep. Yoo Ki-june of the ruling Saenuri Party said that China is opposing the THAAD deployment in South Korea while upgrading its own surveillance capabilities.



He cited the fact that Beijing has already deployed strategic missile units, military satellites and radars which provide surveillance coverage of the entire Korean Peninsula, referring to China's expression of concern that the radar of a THAAD unit is capable of snooping on its military activities.



"In November, China disclosed its missile unit's advanced radar, with a range of thousands of kilometers, and strategic missiles, with a range of 14,000 kilometers, which can be loaded with nuclear warheads. Those were unknown in the past," he said during a radio appearance.



"If China's logic had been applied, it should have let Korea know about the deployment in advance as it could damage Korea's national interest."



On Feb. 7, hours after North Korea launched a long-range rocket in violation of U.N. resolutions, South Korea and the United States announced their decision to officially discuss THAAD deployment here to better deter nuclear and missile threats from the Kim Jong-un regime. The first meeting of the allies' Joint Working Group to iron out details of the deployment, including a location, is scheduled for later this week.



China has long been opposed to bringing the THAAD battery onto the peninsula, out of concerns of the radar coverage. Last week, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei argued that THAAD "damages China's national security interests," calling on Seoul and Washington to withdraw the plan.



Yoo said, "The national security issue is not something that we can make a concession to somebody because it is imperatively necessary. China should not apply a double standard on this matter."



Yoo is a third-term lawmaker of the government party and is a close confidant of President Park Geun-hye. He is also a member of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.



According to the Guancha Syndicate, a political website hosted in Shanghai, China has deployed and operated a long-range early warning radar system, similar to that of the U.S. and Russia, at a space monitoring station in Heilongjiang Province in the northeast region of the nation.



The Guancha Syndicate cited photos of the array warning system, which is similar to U.S. Pave Paws early warning radar, taken last May, saying the long-range radar system is able to detect targets 5,500 kilometers away, far enough away to monitor the entire peninsula.



Defense observers say that China is believed to be operating similar facilities in Xinjiang in the northwest and Fujian in the southeast, also citing photos. They say such radars are apparently capable of monitoring Siberia, Alaska and Japan, as well as Korea.



According to the Ministry of National Defense, if deployed, the THAAD radar will only be activated in terminal mode using a range of some 600 kilometers, not in the forward-based mode which has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers.



Park Hwee-rhak, dean of the Graduate School of Politics and Leadership at Kookmin University, said that Beijing is pressuring Seoul not to bring the THAAD onto Korean soil, while continuing to improve its own capabilities of monitoring the peninsula.



"It is improper not to allow the U.S. to deploy the THAAD battery in Korea due to China's opposition. Rather, Korea should criticize China for its interference in domestic affairs," he wrote in a recent column.



Defense experts say that China's real intention for opposing THAAD may not be because of its radar, but because of its concerns that the deployment would become an opportunity for South Korea, the U.S. and Japan to strengthen their military cooperation, which will expand American influence in Northeast Asia.





Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye



