Pulling out of nuclear arms pact adds to US options to ‘erode Chinese advantage’
- Withdrawing from cold war-era treaty with Russia would mean US could deploy intermediate ground-based missile systems in Asia
- It could have a significant effect on the military balance between China and the US, especially in the event of a conflict
Withdrawing from a cold war-era nuclear weapons pact with Russia would mean the United States could deploy intermediate ground-based missile systems in Asia to counter China, military experts say.
That would add to the military options available to the US – which can already carry out precise strikes globally – in the event of a conflict between America and China, they added.
While Beijing is not a signatory to the 1987 treaty, Trump said abandoning the arms control pact was a threat to China, Russia and “anybody else that wants to play that game”, and that the US would build up its nuclear arsenal.
Beijing rebuked Trump, with the foreign ministry saying it would not be blackmailed into joining the treaty. “We have paid attention to the relevant statement made by US President Donald Trump and his adviser John Bolton regarding China in the context of the INF treaty,” ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a daily press briefing on Tuesday.
“China has always adhered to the defensive nature of its national defence policy and protects its own state interests. China will not tolerate any blackmail from any country”