MOSCOW, January 18. /TASS/. The US new missile shield strategy testifies to Washington’s readiness to use all the resources to bring the arms race to a new level, Chairman of the Council of the Valdai International Discussion Club Andrei Bystritsky told TASS on Friday.

"Of course, this [the presentation of the new US missile defense strategy] is a step towards intensifying the arms race. But it is necessary to take into account that many statements have been made in this sphere lately: the Chinese land a rover on the Moon, talk about Taiwan, tell about their new achievements in weaponry and there are a lot of publications in the American press that the arms race is already underway. So, these words should have been expected," the expert said.

New types of weapons will participate in the new arms race and this serves as an additional risk factor, he stressed.

"That is why, this statement [on putting the new doctrine into effect] has become quite an alarming and substantial factor and it suggests that the Americans have joined this process in the general manner and are ready to use all the resources to bring this arms race to a higher level. A hint at the use of outer space for deploying missile shield elements is already clearly made. That is, we will possibly get into a general uncontrollable situation," the expert said.

New players

The US statements on the new missile shield strategy may force small countries without the experience of participation in such international political processes to be drawn into the arms race, which will add unpredictability, the expert said.

"Also, new elites which are willingly asserting themselves and strongly changing the picture of the world are getting involved in this process," he went on to say.

"This alarming trend suggests the general change in the configuration of interaction in the security sphere," the expert said.

Russia and China

The new US strategy is undoubtedly aimed at limiting the strategic capabilities of Moscow and Beijing, the expert noted.

"It is aimed at confrontation and the limitation to make the enemy understand that it is not so simple to strike some areas. All this is leading surely to the increase of tension, if not confrontation," the expert said, replying to the question about how the new document would affect the strategic capabilities of Russia and China.

As its counter-measures, Russia needs to use diplomatic instruments and try to reach mutually acceptable accords with the United States, despite all the difficulties in the negotiating process, which the sides have been confronted with lately, the expert believes.

The disruption of the negotiations on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty should not serve as a reason to give up and be discouraged by the efficiency of diplomatic instruments for solving contradictions, the expert stressed.

"It is important to ensure mutual security because it is in the interests of all and not only in the interests of Russia to lower the level of tension because we want to develop and live peacefully and for long, and if we are threatened with missiles, then, this arms race as it is will also distract huge resources and pose the risk of unpredictable consequences," the expert said.

New doctrine

On January 17, US President Donald Trump unveiled the new strategy of developing the American missile shield system (the Missile Defense Review) stating that it should be capable of intercepting any missile fired against the United States, including a cruise or a hypersonic missile. The 108-page document released by the Pentagon notes that the United States will no longer recognize any limitations in developing and deploying its missile shield elements. The strategy also sets the task of bringing detection capabilities and, potentially, interceptors into outer space.