By According to this article in the Chinese state controlled media, the Chinese should boycott traveling to Cheju because of the construction of a naval base:
South Korea’s Jeju Island is a popular destination for tourists. But they shouldn’t be so comfortable with their vacations in the future. The South Korean Defence Ministry recently decided to build a naval base on the island. US troops in South Korea will certainly use the naval base as a strategic outpost to contain China and ensure the regional ocean hegemony of the US.
Some South Korean reports state that Jeju will be used as a missile defense base to counter threats from China’s intercontinental ballistic missiles. The base may also be used as part of the conflict between China and South Korea over Suyan Rock, a nearby submerged reef. This shows some South Koreans’ thorough fear of China and that the South Korean government is risking the peace of East Asia to reach its own military objectives.
The South Koreans seem to forget that Jeju Island was named World Peace Island in 2005. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists travel there every year, as it is the nearest place in South Korea from China’s prosperous eastern coastal area. Some Chinese bussinessmen even plan to purchase houses and make long-term investments there. The Korean government did not consider about the feelings of these Chinese tourists and investors.
South Korea is destroying the tourist resources on Jeju Island and changing the natural and human environment of the island, just in order to build a military base and turn the original “peaceful window” into a weapon aimed at its neighbor. I suggest that Chinese tourists boycott the tours to the island and let the “military island” disappear on the map of China’s huge tourism market. [People's Daily via the Marmot's Hole]
This criticism is interesting considering it is coming from the same people that built a huge submarine base on Hainan Island and recently launched an aircraft carrier that can easily be used to threaten South Korea with. As Robert Koehler points out, the real irony of this is that the writer of this article is a professor at Liaoning University in Dalian where the aircraft carrier is based out of. Considering China’s past provocations against South Korea to include the Chinese embassy sponsoring a riot in the middle of Seoul if there should be any boycott it should be South Koreans boycotting going to China.
8:14 am on September 9th, 2011 1
“As Robert Koehler points out, the real irony of this is that the writer of this article is a professor at Liaoning University in Dalian where the aircraft carrier is based out of.”
No irony there. The guy, or whomever paid him to write the article, is pissed off because a modern naval base trumps an old Russian aicraft carrier any day.
10:26 am on September 9th, 2011 2
Coming from a country who gets mad when their budget and claim of South China sea and CLAIMS not to comment or be involved in other countries internal affairs, it is HYP0CRITICAL of China to be critical of the Cheju naval base. And for Beijing’s information, Cheju island is not disputed territory so it does not have any right to criticize South Korea building naval bases in SOUTH KOREA. Yet China gets so mad when they are criticized for setting up military installations in the South China sea which is NOT part of China and IS a DISPUTED area
12:11 pm on September 9th, 2011 3
The chinese got it wrong, the base is not intended for war activity but as a recreational center for the korean navy. They just get into the destroyers, frigates, LHD etc and head to the wonderful and peaceful island of Jeju for leasure …..
12:29 pm on September 9th, 2011 4
Might as well have the Indonesians get pissed off at the USA for building a naval base in Hawaii.
12:36 pm on September 9th, 2011 5
“China Critical of Cheju Naval Base”
I bet they are. China also thinks the entire Korean peninsula should be a vassal state of the glorious Middle Empire.
8:02 pm on September 9th, 2011 6
damn chinese are french of asia
8:17 pm on September 9th, 2011 7
My only question is: why must be the Peace Island of Jeju for this army base and no another place inside South Korea which had many more islands?
8:55 pm on September 9th, 2011 8
^Jeju island is farther out into the ocean, and the only big enough island to support a large naval base.
9:33 pm on September 9th, 2011 9
My second question is: this base in only in special for the Korean navy or for the American navy too?
10:12 pm on September 9th, 2011 10
It’s a base for mostly Korean use, like the Jinhae base near Busan, but USN ships can also use it. No USN ships will register it as their homeport, however.
10:18 pm on September 9th, 2011 11
If USN ship can use the Jeju base, then everything is very very very different for the population of the island which had right to don’t desire any base.
And for my part Not more comment.
12:05 am on September 10th, 2011 12
The case of Jeju naval base is completely different from the cases of Okinawa and Yokosuka where US military detachments are permanently stationed. The Jeju naval base is no more used by USN than the ports of Hong Kong or Singapore are used by USN.
4:26 am on September 10th, 2011 13
Jose I.Diaz wrote
That’s very kind of you to let us know ahead of time.
5:35 am on September 10th, 2011 14
Diaz, Jeju is the most logical location for a base. It allows a greater reach and provides the ability to blockade the waters south of Korea and Japan. As an example,the Brits would have never been able to take New France had they not taken Port Royal on Cape Breton Island.
7:07 am on September 10th, 2011 15
Keep making noise about things like this, China. Keep letting KoKos know your true colors, Benevolent Big Brother.