The US is building a missile-laden naval base in the sleepy village of Gangjeong in Jeju Island, South Korea, 300 kilometers from the Chinese mainland. observers have branded this the ‘Gangjeong Crisis’, the Cuban Crisis in reverse. It may trigger a dangerous massive covert escalation as a Chinese response, without us knowing it. This US brinkmanship may easily usher in World War III in the blink of an eye.
The US has partnered with South Korea to dare build a missile naval base a stone’s throw from China, an obsolete Pentagon plan of encirclement, considered to be expensive and strategically useless due to high-tech weapons evolving. It is like the futility of the Great Wall of China in fending off invasions.
China has been doing its homework. Ever since the US was sabre-rattling in Taiwan with naval fleets and killer subs, it has littered the China Sea with thousands of ocean detectors to make it nuclear-submarine-free. A decade ago, nuclear submarines of the Seventh Fleet would intimidate China at will, hugging its shores, a psych-war ploy, but not anymore. China has also come up with a mac-10 missile which can hit an aircraft carrier before its early warning systems and counter-missiles can react. China’s air force is now 70% underground, in case of a nuclear confrontation. China has come up with a larger version of the US stealth aircraft with longer range and bigger payload. It is working on its version of the deadly US drone. Watch out America. You are not dealing with an underling. Do not be over-confident.
In the Cuban Crisis, in its panic, the US effectively used global media to get worldwide support for its plan to force Krushchev to capitulate. China is doing the opposite, a dangerous secret response. It is taking its own brand of panic with a cool stance. It is not in a position for direct confrontation at this time. Who knows what China is cooking up in response to the imminent threat of Gangjeong. Covert escalation can lead to a sudden explosion. It is not who is quicker at the draw. It is the bystanders.
The US is fast-tracking the billion-dollar naval mega-base to pre-empt the rapidly-growing global protest. Photos show that the future naval complex would make Subic look like a Walden Pond moor. Being an island, it is safe from public intrusions. When completed in 2014, it can accommodate 20 warships and killer subs. DEFCON 1 for Asia in 2014.
The US-South Korea tandem has a second motive. It wants to secure the disputed oil-rich Socotra Rock, the submerged reef of Jeju. South Korea will also benefit from downstream industries servicing the base in the millions of dollars a year.
The plan of building missile bases surrounding China has alarmed Beijing. With 250 million Chinese officially considered as poor, spending billions to challenge US military could sink China’s economy without firing a single shot. (Associated Press)