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The US stages an intermediate-range missile test on Sunday, its first since withdrawing from the cold war-era nuclear treaty. Photo: Reuters

China and Russia to raise US ‘threat to peace’ at UN Security Council meeting

  • Analysts fear a new arms race is looming with US withdrawal from cold war nuclear treaty

China and Russia have called on the United Nations Security Council to address US withdrawal from a landmark cold war-era nuclear treaty, citing “threats to international peace and security”.

In a rare move, Beijing and Moscow requested that a meeting on Thursday of the 15-member council discuss “statements by US officials on their plans to develop and deploy medium-range missiles” in the wake of Washington’s withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

UN undersecretary general and high representative for disarmament affairs Izumi Nakamitsu will brief the meeting, which follows Sunday’s intermediate-range cruise missile test by the United States, its first since pulling out of the treaty which it signed with the former Soviet Union in 1987.

For China and Russia, the missile test was the latest in a series of provocative moves by the US, which has also pledged to deploy new missiles in the Asia-Pacific region.

Observers said it was unusual for China and Russia to openly attack the US – a fellow permanent member of the Security Council – and the move was intended to send a message to other nations, especially in Asia, that they should not host any new US missile system.

“What Washington has done to the INF is a devastating blow to one of the last pillars of the international arms control regime and it will disrupt the delicate balance of military power between the US, China and Russia in the post-cold war era and inevitably lead to another round of the arms race,” said Yue Gang, a retired People’s Liberation Army colonel.

Yue and other Chinese analysts noted that Beijing and Moscow had been pushed closer together by the Trump administration’s classification of the two cold war adversaries as primary threats and top rivals to US global dominance. Both countries have also been on high alert in response to Washington’s “America first” national security strategy.

“Apparently, the US’ maximum pressure campaign is not only about tariffs and trade rifts. It is an all-round game to curb China economically, politically and militarily,” Yue said.

China to join Russia in war games as Beijing’s Washington ties unravel

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper indicated on Wednesday in a Fox News Channel interview that Sunday’s missile test was aimed at sending a message to China, rather than North Korea or Russia.

“We want to make sure that we, as we need to, have the capability to deter Chinese bad behaviour by having our own capability to be able to strike at intermediate ranges,” he said.

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said that Sunday’s missile test was aimed at sending a message to China. Photo: AFP

The test followed a robust statement by Esper immediately after US withdrawal from the INF treaty, in which he said he wanted to see ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles in Asia “sooner rather than later”.

China immediately warned potential hosts of US missiles, such as Japan, South Korea and Australia, to “exercise prudence” and not allow such weapons on their territory.

Defence chief: US to deploy new missiles in Asia to counter China’s rise

Fu Cong, a senior arms control official at the Chinese foreign ministry, also urged the US to exercise restraint and said Beijing would be forced to take countermeasures if Washington went ahead with its missile plans in the region.

Zhu Feng, dean of the international relations school at Nanjing University, noted that it was quite unusual for two members of the Security Council to openly attack another permanent member over its military strategy and developments.

“That’s something really rare since the end of the cold war, which underlines the significance of the move. Considering the grave consequences of what Washington has done, it deserves greater international attention, especially from countries in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.

But Zhu cautioned that the meeting would be unlikely to yield any statement or concrete results, given Washington’s veto power.

US cruise missile test will start a new arms race, says China

Both Zhu and Yue said China would have to tread carefully to avoid being drawn into a costly and dangerous arms race with tensions between Beijing and Washington already boiling over a trade war and a slew of technology and geopolitical differences.

“With the demise of the INF, the global arms control regime is tumbling down and we might see a repeat of the explosive tensions in Europe at the height of the cold war in the 1960s,” Zhu said.

Compounding matters, the Trump administration was ramping up the pressure on China with its updated Indo-Pacific strategy, which promised to shift its military capabilities increasingly towards Asia, he noted.

“Along with Russia, China should remain sober-minded before responding to Washington’s offensive moves. With almost every country in the region being affected by US provocations and the likely subsequent arms race, China should seek understanding and rally support from other players to deal with the imminent challenges,” Zhu said.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: China, Russia to raise U.S. ‘threats’
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