A South Korean environmental impact assessment of a US missile defense system found “insignificant” electromagnetic radiation relative to safety standards, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, clearing the way for its permanent deployment.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system installed in South Korea in 2017 generated a maximum level of electromagnetic radiation below 0.2 percent of the safety standards, the ministry said.
China and some residents had complained about its placement in the southeastern air base of Seongju.
Photo: AP
“The latest environmental impact assessment is a preceding step for the normalization of the Seongju base,” the ministry said in a statement.
The study result is expected to clear the way for additional infrastructure construction for the system.
Officials have said THAAD could not be operated at its full capacity amid protests from nearby residents who raised concerns over the system’s impact on their health.
No USFK THAAD deployment: Sosungri Village and National Civil Society Network, a coalition of groups opposing the installation, denounced the government announcement.
The group said that the review was hastily done and hinted that it would continue protesting.
China has also angrily reacted to the installation, contending that the system’s powerful radar could peer into its airspace.
Washington and Seoul have said that THAAD is self-defensive in nature to counter threat from North Korea.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
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