The Entry to Jeju Island by 3 American members of “Veterans for Peace” on March 15th was denied; they were detained and forcibly deported by the South Korean authorities.

Check the VfP’s official press release for their Public Protest against South Korea’s pro-US Lee regime in Seoul; “U.S VETS REFUSED ENTRY INTO SOUTH KOREA: Protest Friday at South Korean Consulate in New York”

From the very outset, the idea to construct a naval base in Korea as “Another US Naval Base”, on Jeju Island, strategically located about 200 miles from China’s coastline, has broad ramifications.

It is not strictly a Korea-US issue. It affects the entire Northeast Asian region. 

China is drawn into a confrontational geopolitical structure, predicated on the de facto militarization of the Korean Peninsula and much of the Northeast Asia region, particularly in the context of  what is acknowledged in South Korea as “America’s strategic naval base as a direct military threat to China.”

The Construction of “Another US Naval Base” on Jeju Island, Korea is not only a regional issue, it has global military ramifications. There are four major global powers involved: the  US, China, Russia, Japan, together with both Koreas.

Resulting from the Jeju Naval base and its strategic geographic location, the national security and geopolitical interests of these countries has become dangerously intertwined. (see map below)  

Many Koreans already call the Jeju Naval Base ”Another US Naval Base.” They also call it  the “US Pirate Base”

According to several South Korean (both conservative and progressive) media, the “thoroughly pro-US, pro-Japan to the bone” Lee regime (a direct quote from President Lee’s older brother) is marked by an “unprecedented, probably the worst case of political flunkeyism” in recent Korean history. 

As a result, due to Lee’s disastrous and ruinous four years of  corrupt government, the entire Korean peninsula as well as China and the entire Northeast Asian region have been forcibly thrown into a state of military tension.

During the most shameful and tragic presidency in modern Korean history, South Korea has been torn apart, leading to unprecedented social, cultural, economic, political, ideological and religious divisions within Korean society.

Moreover, there has been a corresponding deterioration in North-South relations over the last 4 years during Lee’s blindly antagonistic and destructive policy toward the other half of the Korean peninsula. 

A majority of the South Korean population have courageously challenged, condemned and denounced his pernicious rule.

Also, even if President Lee has been talking about the “green movement”, in actual fact he has been “anti-Nature.” This pertains to the outright destruction of Jeju island, one of the most beautiful spots in Korea, which “contains the natural  World Heritage Site, Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes.”

Jeju Existing Naval Base

However, Jeju Island is not only a precious natural treasure in Korea, it is also a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site, wehich is slated to be transformed into a US island military base.

The immediate area where ”Another US Military Naval Base” is going to be constructed has “three UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites and nine UNESCO Geo-Parks” also. The park is also a “UNESCO-designated Global Biosphere Reserve.”

In addition to the UNESCO background in terms of its preciousness, uniqueness, and irreplaceable worth as a human natural resource, Jeju Island has also been called “The Island of World Peace”.

On January 27, 2005, the South Korean government  under Lee’s predecessor, President Roh Moohyun “designated Jeju Island as the Island of World Peace based on Article 12 of the Special Act for the Jeju Free International City” (http://www.peace.jeju.kr/eng/html/sub1/sub1.htm).

That island of world peace is now about to be turned completely upside down, transformed into another warmongering, aggressive and strategic US military naval structure.  The “publicly and repeatedly pronounced prime military target” of the Jeju naval base is China (see map above).

Part II The Jeju Naval Base Another US Base in Korea: Strategic Threat to China

http://www.4thmedia.org/2012/03/22/the-jeju-naval-base-another-us-military-base-on-korean-soil-a-strategic-threat-to-china-ii/

Dr. Kiyul Chung, Editor in Chief at The 4th Media, is a Visiting Professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Xinhua University, Beijing, China.