By This past weekend saw clashes with the riot police over the construction of the Cheju Naval Base. As I have suspected the Korean left isn’t getting much traction with the issue judging by the size of the crowd:
Compared to past protests organized by the Korean left this is nothing. The problem they have is that the protest is on Cheju instead of in Seoul or in the immediate Seoul area like the Camp Humphreys protest was.
2005 Protest at Camp Humphreys
So obviously the Korean left not able to mobilize large numbers like they could in the past. Because of this it appears they are turning to the next page in the typical playbook to stop the construction of something which is to claim it is destroying cultural assets and is illegal. If this doesn’t work expect them next to claim the base is endangering some rare frog or something similar.
She hasn’t seen...
4:26 pm on September 6th, 2011 1
Funny how they didn’t publish a picture taken about 20 seconds later, when those 12 protesters were surrounded by the cops and then taken away in the paddy wagons. Clearly, someone’s trying to blow this protest out of proportion.
5:46 pm on September 6th, 2011 2
I agree with the protesters. Lets get out of Korea. Let them defend their own little backyard.
6:17 pm on September 6th, 2011 3
#2,
Considering the geopolitical and geoeconomical factors…It won’t happen in our lifetimes.
6:32 pm on September 6th, 2011 4
Might as well give them something to do with their free time; I guess protesting is as good as any other damn hobby.
7:23 pm on September 6th, 2011 5
#2
Have to agree with #3 here, way too much going on in this region. We’re not even really “defending” South Korea anymore, their quite capable of fending off whatever NK throws at them, mostly due to NK being a failed state incapable of winning an invasion. What we’re really doing now is preventing China / Russia (mostly China through) from deciding to create the New Chinese Empire and “liberating” their Korean and Japanese “brothers” from their morally corrupt capitalistic ways. The fact that this liberation would take place at gun point and that Korea / Japan would be stripped of their resources to fuel the glorious spreading of the Divinely Righteous Chinese way, well that’s just a side effect.
Don’t ever think that there isn’t some opportunistic a$$hole somewhere who isn’t thinking up various methods to expand their power. Military Conquest has been the oldest method of expanding said power. It’s like Protestation, we can make it illegal and pretend it doesn’t exist, but it’ll never go away as long as there is a demand.
10:13 pm on September 6th, 2011 6
The real goal is Taiwan. Taiwanese should be angry at the chinboistas more than anyone.
10:16 pm on September 6th, 2011 7
Taiiwanese with a smug attitude toward american military presence in east asia are the worst.
10:36 am on September 7th, 2011 8
Someotherguy, #5 That is the best answer I have ever heard. Makes some sense. Still, I’m not convinced we are needed in BOTH countries. Couldn’t we react to Chinese aggression in Korea, from Japan? I know they both protest us but, as you said, Korea can defend itself. Let us allow them to do so.
6:57 pm on September 7th, 2011 9
Damned firefox spell checker.
“It’s like Protestation, we can make it illegal and pretend it doesn’t exist, but it’ll never go away as long as there is a demand.”
Should read,
“It’s like Prostitution, we can make it illegal and pretend it doesn’t exist, but it’ll never go away as long as there is a demand.”
@8,
Technically we could only be in one country but that would limit the strategic ability of one of our forces. Korea provides a perfect location for projecting ground power (aka Army). This is the reason the Japanese were constantly trying to conquer Korea, it provided the perfect staging area for launching an attack into mainland China. It’s also the reason China keeps NK alive, NK provided a buffer state that would stop any would-be invasion of the Chinese mainland.
Japan on the other hand provides a perfect location for concentrating Air / Sea power (Airforce / Navy). It’s a set of islands that are easily defended and provide ample locations for Navy ports and Air strips. The reason Japan was never conquered by China is that the Chinese could never get a good foot hold to setup ground operations. No invasion force could approach Japan without being detected and destroyed while their still in their boats. Similar situation with an air invasion. Unfortunately Japan provides a very poor center for ground power projection. Army base’s require inordinate amounts of land compared to Air / Navy bases, and in Japan land is very expensive.
This is the reason we keep Navy / Air bases in Japan and Ground base’s in South Korea. Their close enough to operate together but each area offers unique benefits.
11:29 pm on September 7th, 2011 10
This is a Korean navy base, right? So it’s part of the ROK’s effort to defend itself, not part of a plan to keep US ground forces in Korea forever. So I don’t understand how Retired GI 2 can agree with the protesters.
6:42 pm on September 8th, 2011 11
#10,
It’ll be combined, similar to the other Air / Navy bases in SK. The base will be predominately ROK but US Navy ships will dock and there will be a small detachment there.
7:05 pm on September 8th, 2011 12
someotherguy 11, then I agree with my good friend Retired GI to this extent: we shouldn’t have any “small detachment” there.
9:17 pm on September 8th, 2011 13
@12,
Unfortunately you need one else you can’t keep ships there for any length of time. Resupply is one thing, but you need a shore detail for extended operations. Navy runs duty’s in cycles, so it’ll just become a shore duty assignment, and seeing as where it’ll be located it’ll be a hot assignment similar to Japan / PI.
9:49 pm on September 8th, 2011 14
I’m not saying I support a navy detachment in Jejudo, only that for the US to utilize that facility for extended operations one would be required. Honestly looking from a strategic point of view, the US would gain a pretty big capability for minimal expense if they were able to park a US Carrier Battle Group at a place like Jejudo.
2:02 am on September 9th, 2011 15
With the way the US budget is going, we may not be able to afford bases in Korea by 2020.
2:53 am on September 9th, 2011 16
Silly Sand Sailor,
Don’t say silly things.
Of course the US budget will be able to afford bases in Korea… and the Middle East… and Africa in 2020.
There are all sorts of extra funds currently tied up in needless things like education, non-military-related research, and domestic infrastructure that are begging to be used in the War on Terror.
And Social Security “obligations” can always be paid in freshly printed dollars… or not at all. Old people don’t riot well.
Of course welfare can’t get cut off… as large parts of the nation would kinda look like the Louisiana Superdome after Katrina… except that nobody would be coming to help them… and, fueled by hunger, drugs, guns, and a basic lack of socialization, they might get a bit uppity about it all.
But military bases will always be affordable.