Video Fwd: NEWS CONFAB ON JEJU ISLAND

Bruce Gagnon blog
NEWS CONFAB ON JEJU ISLAND
Oct. 22, 2009



Here is a video put up on a Korean news web site from a news conference I participated in today on Jeju Island.

Jeju is a UNESCO acknowledged environmental jewel about 500 miles south of the Korean peninsula. The South Korean Navy is building a major Naval base where Aegis destroyers, outfitted with Missile Defense systems, will be homeported along with nuclear submarines. The US will surely use this port for its Aegis destroyers and other naval vessels as it is a strategic point for the entrance to the Malaka Strait through which China imports 80% of its oil. If the US could control China's importation of oil then it would hold the keys to their economic engine.

The coral reefs surrounding Jeju are wonders of nature and will surely be adversely impacted by a Naval base and the constant coming and going of Naval ships which will pollute the surrounding waters just as they have done at other Naval bases.

The activists here have created a fabulous 50-minute video about the situation and I have asked them to translate it into English so we can distribute it widely throughout the Global Network. They have agreed to do so and it should be ready in a few weeks.