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The South Korean government is building a naval base on Jeju Island, officially named the “Island of World Peace”. The base will be one of the largest in the world. The island is located just under 300 miles from the Chinese mainland.

It will be home to both United States and South Korean warships. It will include 20 large destroyers, two aircraft carriers, two nuclear submarines, the Aegis ballistic missile defense system and 6000 soldiers.

It is part of the same process of US militarisation of the region reflected in plans for a new US military base at Darwin.

Peace and environmental activists, including the island's democratically elected mayor, have been jailed for rejecting this dangerous and illegal military project.

A hosted on the campaign website at www.savejejuisland.org explains how “suddenly the whole land was owned by the Ministry of Defence [but] the whole process was without the knowledge of the villagers …

“Before the navy arrived the villagers farmed the lands and fished the waters, now many of the villagers have lost their livelihoods. Day and night they eat sleep and breathe the ongoing struggle to win back their land.”

Since plans for the naval base were announced five years ago, 94% of Gangjeong residents have voted against the base and used every possible democratic means to block it being built in their pristine fishing village. Yet their protests have mostly fallen on deaf ears.

Jeju Island is situated off the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and covers a lava plateau with a shield volcano at an elevation of 1950 metres above sea level. The high biological diversity, unique volcanic topography and the culture of Jeju Island attract many tourists.

The home for this proposed military facility on Jeju Island is the tiny village of Gangjeong. It is surrounded by three UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites and nine UNESCO Geo-Parks on an island that is designated a Global Biosphere Reserve.

Building is accelerating daily with the dredging of the island’s seabed and its coral communities underway.

Jeju Island joins the growing list of US military installations and is the front line in the fight for world peace. You help can make a significant difference.

Matthew Hoey has been advocating for the protesters opposing the naval. He is the outreach coordinator for the Global Campaign to Save Jeju Island.

Hoey is a former senior research associate at the Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies (IDDS). Hoey’s research is focused on the Asian security environment, specifically in regard to the proliferation of sensitive military technologies that play a role in undermining international security.

He spoke with Kim Min-ji of Korean newspaper, .

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In your opinion, what are the major arguments against the building of a naval base in Gangjeong village?

Firstly, there are the national, regional and international security implications. It will only build up tensions between Korea and China, creating more problems than it will solve… [it] will become a temporary military base for the US. In the event of US-China military confrontation, it’s going to draw a security threat to South Korea.

Along with devastating environmental implications, human rights are also at stake. Gangjeong villagers are being targeted by police for their political beliefs. The police have fined, imprisoned and held innocent villagers for legally standing up for peace in Gangjeong village.

Even the democratically elected Mayor is in prison without bail for defending a legal vote. How absurd!

The third argument is the cultural sensitivities with two focal points. One focal point is the archaeological significance of Jeju. Historic relics from Chosun dynasty have been recently discovered on the site.

The other focal point lies in the past. The last time a military base was located on Jeju more than 30,000 people were killed in genocide. Jeju people endured great trauma and so much pain during the April 3 uprising in 1948.

We can guarantee that this naval base will cause more trauma and pain for the people in Jeju at some point in the future.

The fourth component is the legal dimension. Only 87 people out of 1800 residents had the rights to vote on this matter.

Do you believe the people can protect the village?

I like to joke that there was "Occupy Gangjeong" before "Occupy Wall Street". People have risen up to speak up for themselves … a group of 80 people including the young, farmers, college students, children, fathers and mothers lived on the construction base in a tent to stop the construction.

There is a seven-year-old girl who is a mascot of the Protect Gangjeong Village Movement,’ whom I call "the future president of South Korea”.