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"China regards missile defense as the 21st century's greatest threat and is dissatisfied with US missile defense policy," knowing it targets them offensively.
Lee Tae-ho, deputy secretary general of South Korea's People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, in fact, believes:
"The Chines government has a response strategy that first attacks US missile defense in the case of an emergency. That means that the Jeju naval base will be targeted in an armed conflict between the United States and China," or in case of one with Taiwan in which America intervenes.
Short of war, an Asian arms race and popular opposition are major bones of contention, reflected in a 2007 Geongjeong Village People's Council vote showing 94% of residents against a naval base. They oppose one disrupting their lives by environmental destruction (including soft coral habitat), harming tourism, disrupting fishing, and displacing local citrus growers by confiscating their land for militarism and potential war.
Nonetheless, in May 2009, construction plans were approved followed by dredging the Joongduk coastline to accommodate large warships. As a result, several lawsuits were filed without success. On December 15, 2010, a Jeju court ruled building plans posed no infringement problems despite clear evidence otherwise.
As a result, villagers and supporters protested, including on Christmas day 2010, blocking cement trucks brought in to pour concrete over coral reefs vital to preserve. Moreover, local residents occupied the site, facing off with police to stop cranes from dredging their cherished shoreline for America, not their own country.
Bruce Gagnon, co-founder and coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, follows the base controversy on two web sites:
-- Space4peace.org; and
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