Chinese Lt. Gen. He Lei told TASS this morning that Beijing will take effective measures to prevent the deployment of U.S. intermediate-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region. “The intermediate-range missiles being deployed by the United States pose a security threat to various countries in the Asia-Pacific region,” the general said on the sidelines of the 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum. “We strongly oppose it and will take effective measures to firmly stop it,” he emphasized.
“Regardless of where they are deployed, whether in the Philippines or Japan, land-based intermediate-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region will pose the biggest security threat to the region,” he added.
General He was apparently responding to recent remarks by U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, who said—when and where is not reported by TASS—that the U.S. side is interested in the deployment of land-based intermediate-range missiles on the territory of Japan, missiles which were prohibited under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, from which the U.S. withdrew in 2019.
