Russia, China Warn U.S. Over Banned Missile Test
MOSCOW (AFP) -- Russia and China warned Tuesday that a new U.S. missile test had heightened military tensions and risked sparking an arms race, weeks after Washington ripped up a Cold War-era weapons pact with Moscow.
The U.S. and Russia ditched the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty this month after accusing each other of violating the accord.
Washington said the agreement also tied its hands in dealing with other powers such as China.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced on Monday it had tested a type of ground-launched missile that was banned under the 1987 INF agreement, which limited the use of nuclear and conventional medium-range weapons.
"The U.S. has obviously taken a course towards escalation of military tensions. We won't react to provocations," Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency TASS.
"We will not allow ourselves to get drawn into a costly arms race."
Ryabkov said the test showed Washington had been working on such missiles long before its official withdrawal from the deal.
In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said: "This measure from the U.S. will trigger a new round of an arms race, leading to an escalation of military confrontation."
He warned that the test "will have a serious negative impact on the international and regional security situation".
The U.S. should "let go of its Cold War mentality" and "do more things that are conducive to... international and regional peace and tranquility", Geng added.
The missile was launched from the U.S. Navy-controlled San Nicolas Island off the coast of California.
Speaking in France Monday before news of the U.S. test launch broke, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would only deploy medium- or shorter-range missiles in response to similar moves by the U.S.
"If the United States produces such offensive systems, we will also do so," Putin said at a press conference before meetings with French leader Emmanuel Macron.
Moscow and Washington have long criticized the treaty but Putin said it was the U.S. that made the decision to "unilaterally" withdraw.
The missile tested on Sunday was a version of the nuclear-capable Tomahawk cruise missile. The ground-launched version of the Tomahawk was removed from service after the INF was ratified.
Earlier this month Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said the U.S. had already begun work to develop "mobile, conventional, ground-launched cruise and ballistic missile systems".
The U.S. and Russia ditched the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty this month after accusing each other of violating the accord.
Washington said the agreement also tied its hands in dealing with other powers such as China.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced on Monday it had tested a type of ground-launched missile that was banned under the 1987 INF agreement, which limited the use of nuclear and conventional medium-range weapons.
"The U.S. has obviously taken a course towards escalation of military tensions. We won't react to provocations," Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency TASS.
"We will not allow ourselves to get drawn into a costly arms race."
Ryabkov said the test showed Washington had been working on such missiles long before its official withdrawal from the deal.
In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said: "This measure from the U.S. will trigger a new round of an arms race, leading to an escalation of military confrontation."
He warned that the test "will have a serious negative impact on the international and regional security situation".
The U.S. should "let go of its Cold War mentality" and "do more things that are conducive to... international and regional peace and tranquility", Geng added.
The missile was launched from the U.S. Navy-controlled San Nicolas Island off the coast of California.
Speaking in France Monday before news of the U.S. test launch broke, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would only deploy medium- or shorter-range missiles in response to similar moves by the U.S.
"If the United States produces such offensive systems, we will also do so," Putin said at a press conference before meetings with French leader Emmanuel Macron.
Moscow and Washington have long criticized the treaty but Putin said it was the U.S. that made the decision to "unilaterally" withdraw.
The missile tested on Sunday was a version of the nuclear-capable Tomahawk cruise missile. The ground-launched version of the Tomahawk was removed from service after the INF was ratified.
Earlier this month Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said the U.S. had already begun work to develop "mobile, conventional, ground-launched cruise and ballistic missile systems".