China will not ‘stand idly by’ if US proceeds with Asian missile plans
- Senior foreign ministry official advises South Korea, Japan, Australia in particular not to host intermediate-range weapons
US plans to deploy intermediate-range missiles in the Indo-Pacific region would be met with Chinese countermeasures, according to a senior foreign ministry official on Tuesday.
Fu Cong, director of the ministry’s arms control department, said China was particularly concerned about the plans, announced by US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper at the weekend, to develop and test a land-based intermediate-range ground based missile in the Asia-Pacific “sooner rather than later”.
Fu’s remarks followed last week’s withdrawal by the US from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (IRNF) which, he said, would have a “direct negative impact” on global strategic stability, as well as security in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
The US withdrawal was swiftly followed by Esper’s assertion, at the start of a week-long tour of Asia, that he wanted to deploy mid-range conventional missiles in the Asia-Pacific within months. Australia previously said the locations for the bases were not yet known, but it would not be one of them.
Esper also confirmed that Washington wanted to deploy new intermediate-range missiles in Asia, something it would not have been able to do under the terms of the IRNF, signed by Russia and the US in 1987. It expired on Friday, with Washington saying it withdrew because of Russia’s alleged violations of the pact. Russia denies breaching the terms.