WASHINGTON, April 17. /TASS/. The United States is deliberately increasing the level of a military standoff and fueling tensions in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov told journalists.
"The United States is purposefully escalating the level of military confrontation and fueling hotbeds of tension. They are creating new closed groups and military-political alliances in the Asia-Pacific region," the envoy’s commentary published on the Russian Embassy’s Telegram channel said. Antonov stressed that this way Washington "is trying to return the world to the worst times of the Cold War and brinkmanship on the brink of a nuclear conflict."
The US and Philippines are holding joint drills dubbed Salaknib 24. According to US Army Pacific, during the exercise, US forces successfully deployed the Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system to Northern Luzon in the Philippines for the first time ever.
Earlier, General Charles Flynn, commander of US Army Pacific, said the US was planning to deploy medium-range missiles in Asia to deter China. Under the provisions of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) signed between the USSR and the US in 1987, Washington could not deploy missile launchers, land-based ballistic missiles and cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. However, in 2019, the US withdrew from the treaty.