China and Russia criticise THAAD missile defence system as destabilising region

China and Russia blasted Seoul and Washington on Friday over their decision to deploy an advanced missile defence system in South Korea, which analysts said would trigger a new round of an arms race in northeast Asia and push China closer to the North Korea.

South Korea’s deputy defence minister, Yoo Jeh-seung, told a nationally televised news conference that the two countries were close to determining the best location for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile system. It is expected to be deployed and operational by the end of 2017.

Both countries’ defence departments said in a joint statement the system would “ensure the security of the South and its people, and to protect alliance military forces from North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile threats”.

The system, with radars that cover 4,000km, is capable of viewing Chinese operations over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea in greater detail.

The announcement came only days ahead of a decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague over Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea, in a case that has already strained China’s relation with Washington.

In Beijing, Foreign Vice-Minister Zhang Yesui summoned the US and South Korean envoys to protest the THAAD deployment, saying it would “seriously damage” China’s strategic security interests and undermine the balance of security in the region. Neither would it be conducive to maintaining peace and stability in Northeast Asia, Zhang said.

The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement: “This missile defence system tends to undermine stability in the region ... We hope that our partners will avoid any actions that could have irreparable consequences.” Russian media quoted Yevgeny Serebrennikov, the deputy chair of the arms committee in the upper house, as saying Russia could respond by deploying missile and ground units in the country’s eastern regions.