THIS is apropos the article ‘A red flag’ (June 29) by Uzair M. Younus. The writer has tried to portray the Chinese shutdown of Lotte, a South Korean company, as a hegemonic design by China and a reprisal for the deployment of the terminal high altitude area defence (THAAD).

Now let us take an anodyne view of this matter. When the United States deployed THAAD on South Korean land on the pretext of monitoring and combating North Korean missiles, not only China but Korea itself showed serious reservations as the THAAD site belonged to Lotte.

Moreover, Russia and China both also raised concerns regarding the controversial THAAD deployment as to them THAAD radars were monitoring their lands, which was against the sovereignty of the two countries.

It would be bizarre to say that the blockade of trade with Seoul, especially Lotte, was meant to hurt the South Korean economy.

Izhar Hussain

Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2017