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US deploying THAAD in South Korea to spy on China: Author

Friday, 04 November 2016 7:11 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 04 November 2016 7:13 PM ]

A THAAD missile is launched during a successful test, in this undated handout photo provided by the US Department of Defense.

The United States has announced plans to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to South Korea within eight to 10 months. Vincent Brooks, the commander of the US forces in South Korea, claimed the missile deployment on the Korean Peninsula would have a deterrent effect against what he called the North Korean provocations.

Ryan Dawson, the author of "Welcome to the USSA", told Press TV on Friday that besides pursuing economic gains, Washington intends to spy on China by selling military hardware to South Korea.

The THAAD system has been “made by the Lockheed Martin and it is worth $1.15 billion; that’s more than South Korea spends on their defense for the entire US military presence,” Dawson noted.

“This (the deployment) is going to cause major tensions with China. It has nothing to do with North Korea; Its radar system seeps into Chinese territory, [it] spies on Chinese territory," he added.

Beijing has called on South Korea and the US to immediately cease the deployment process, and reiterated that it would take necessary steps to safeguard its security interests.

“It’s a huge waste of money and the system doesn’t even work. In tests they failed six times in a row,” he said, adding that the missile system "is really not for defense, it’s to spy on China.”

The purchase of the system from the US has already affected the South Korean economy as China has started "upping inspections on South Korean cosmetic products,” he said, adding, “It sounds silly but this is a billion dollar market.”

China’s decision to put restrictions on South Korean products has caused a decline in Seoul’s stock market values, he noted.

The author further said that South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye has allowed the US to deploy the missile system in her country under the pretext of countering threats posed by North Korea, while Washington and Seoul are the ones who are rattling their sabers.

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