China's sudden sanction, and South Korea immediately begged for mercy, pleading with China to show leniency. At the same time, a piece of news broke out, causing a big stir. It can only be said that South Korea's slap was truly deserved.

Lee Jae-myung appeared at the Hanwha Ocean shipyard in the United States

Recently, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce suddenly announced a regulation, sanctioning five U.S. subsidiaries of the South Korean shipbuilding giant "Hanwha Ocean," prohibiting Chinese enterprises or individuals from cooperating with them in any way. Upon the announcement, the Lee Jae-myung government urgently discussed countermeasures and lowered its tone, begging China to show mercy, hoping to minimize losses for South Korean companies as much as possible.

Regarding this move by China, the South Korean government had not yet spoken, but the South Korean media called out first, believing it to be "China and the U.S. fighting, South Korea suffering." Their words were full of委屈. The reason why South Korean media thought so is because on the day China announced the regulation, the U.S. launched a "tariff on port fees" sanction against China, and China retaliated equally, officially starting the "naval battle" between China and the U.S.

South Korea felt very guilty, because when the U.S. conducted the so-called "Section 301 investigation" against China, Hanwha Ocean's U.S. subsidiaries not only assisted the U.S. in the investigation, but also provided commercial information about Chinese shipbuilding companies to the U.S., directly helping the U.S. suppress China's core industries. In Trump's plan to revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding industry, Hanwha Ocean played an important role.

MASGA Plan between the U.S. and South Korea

The reason why the Lee Jae-myung government immediately lowered its tone was partly because it knew it was at fault, and partly because it had no choice. Being sanctioned by China just before the Gyeongju Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting coincided with the critical point of the South Korean-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation "MASGA Plan." If this matter was not handled properly, it would likely offend both China and the U.S.

At this critical moment, a piece of news released by U.S. media became the last straw for South Korea. According to a report by the U.S. news website "Korean Military News," internal personnel of Hanwha Ocean revealed that the company is considering selling its developed CTM-ASBM anti-ship ballistic missile to the Philippines and has already submitted a formal proposal.

CTM-ASBM Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile Model

The high coincidence of these two time points made the outside world immediately understand that China's sanctions were not only a retaliation for assisting the U.S. in suppression, but also a warning to South Korea not to "play with fire" in the South China Sea. According to the information, if this missile is paired with Hanwha Ocean's K239 "Cheonpyeo" mobile multiple rocket launcher system, its range can reach 160 kilometers.

It can be said that this product is tailor-made for the Philippines, specifically targeting mobile sea targets, and can cover important shipping lanes in the western waters of the Philippines, including the disputed South China Sea areas near Palawan Island, perfectly overlapping with the "priority defense area" mentioned in the Philippine Defense White Paper.

Hanwha Ocean Shipyard

More suspiciously, Hanwha actively offered installment payments and technology transfer, with a unit price of 2 million U.S. dollars, which is much cheaper than European and American products, specially catering to the budget-limited Philippines. South Korea clearly knows the sensitivity of this transaction. The Lee Jae-myung government mouthed "strategic balance," but in action, it helped the U.S. arm the Philippines, a South China Sea ally. This "covert approach" essentially treated China's core interests as a pawn.

Looking at this, South Korea's slap from China is entirely self-inflicted, and there is no injustice. When the Lee Jae-myung government encountered problems, it immediately thought of asking China to show mercy, rather than reflecting on how they turned a blind eye when their own companies engaged in business that harmed China's interests. Although the Sino-U.S. trade conflict may gradually subside through mutual concessions, South Korea has stepped on China's landmine regarding the South China Sea sovereignty issue.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7561681242849149476/

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