Latest stories

South Korea resets alliance burden sharing after Trump Asia Visit

Nobel laureate urges China to deepen space collaboration

India: from climate voice of the South to proof of leadership Domestic and foreign criticism

Building and implementing a naval base on Jeju didn't come without domestic controversy, as locals and various South Korean human rights organizations see the island's history as peaceful and free from militarism.

Before the Korean War, Jeju was the site of a major left-wing workers' uprising that spiraled out of control and was ultimately violently suppressed by the Syngman Rhee administration with US military backing, leading to tens of thousands of deaths.

The pushback against the creation of a base on Jeju Island was so significant that construction, which started in 2007, wasn't finalized until 2016. Locals and activists fear that a growing naval presence will make the island susceptible to missile strikes in the event of armed provocations from North Korea or China.

In Beijing's view, the expanding ROKN's task force command in Jeju could hinder PLAN ambitions in the Indo-Pacific, given the naval base's strategic location, which poses several key obstacles for China.

South Korea's naval fleet in Jeju could monitor the movements of China's PLAN Northern Fleet, whose area of responsibility includes expanding into the Yellow Sea and defending Beijing against potential attacks.

In the vicinity of major US military bases near Okinawa, a ROKN naval task force command in Jeju can hinder China's ambitions toward Taiwan. Beijing will need to keep Seoul neutral in the event of a potential war with Taipei. If the ROKN reaches a mutual understanding with the US Navy, the PLAN may have to divert resources to the northernmost part of the East China Sea, creating a nightmare of a new front.

Expecting intimidation

Beijing will not sit idly by as the Jeju naval task force fleet command is implemented, as the Chinese government will enact various measures towards Seoul to ensure the island doesn't become a forward American military lynchpin.

A retired South Korean naval officer, Joshua NamTae Park, noted in a July 2025 War on the Rocks article that the Chinese government will set out to undermine the US-ROK alliance and simultaneously enact intimidation through the Chinese Northern Fleet or via North Korean provocations.

Chinese government-sponsored psychological operations in hybrid and informational warfare will take place in South Korea, which will focus on the activists and anti-militarism movements to continue domestic resistance activities against the Jeju naval task force command.

Beijing has taken note of Seoul's lukewarm response to Pyongyang's deployment of several thousand troops to Kursk and its acquisition of Russian components for submarines. With that knowledge, the Chinese government will seek to exploit the ROK's political situation.