China Demands “Immediate Halt” Of US Missile Shield Deployment In South Korea
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
May 2, 2017
As we pointed out earlier today, Reuters cited US military officials who said that the U.S. military’s THAAD anti-missile defense system has “reached initial intercept capability” in South Korea, although they added that it would not be fully operational for some months. Just hours after the announcement, Beijing lashed out at DC and demanded an “immediate halt” to the controversial US missile shield. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang voiced the government’s position against the move during a briefing on Tuesday.
“We oppose the deployment of the US missile system to South Korea and call on all parties to immediately stop this process. We are ready to take necessary measures to protect our interests,” he said according to AFP, adding that “China’s position on the THAAD issue has not changed.”
As Reuters noted earlier, the spokesperson didn’t specify what “necessary measures” China had in mind. However, responding to the THAAD installation, last week China announced on Thursday that it will stage live-fire exercises and test new weapons to protect its security.
Curiously, while on one hand Beijing lashed out at the shield’s deployment, on the other, the foreign ministry expressed support for US President Donald Trump’s surprise comments that he would be “honored” to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un under the right conditions.
Asked about Trump’s remarks, Geng said that China “has always believed that dialogue and consultation… is the only realistic and viable way to achieve denuclearisation.”
“We also said many times that the US and DPRK… should make political decisions at an early date, take action and show good faith so that we can create a better atmosphere for resuming the peace talks and settling the issue,” he added.
Beijing has previously expressed loud concerns over the THAAD system and joint US-South Korean drills near the Korean Peninsula, consistently urging all the parties involved to find a peaceful solution to the volatile situation in the region. Backed by Russia, it also proposed a halt to military drills in exchange for an end to Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear tests during a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) session held in New York on Friday.
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