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US missile deployment in Asia poses biggest danger to region — general

In the spring, the US deployed an intermediate-range missile system in northern Japan as part of a Philippine-US exercise. Beijing strongly objected to the move

BEIJING, September 12. /TASS/. The deployment of US intermediate-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region poses the greatest danger to the regional stabilit, Lieutenant General He Le told a TASS correspondent.

"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," the general said on the sidelines of the 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum.

Earlier, US Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said that the US side is interested in the deployment of land-based intermediate-range missiles on the territory of Japan, which is actually prohibited by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, from which Washington withdrew in 2019.

In the spring, the US deployed an intermediate-range missile system in northern Japan as part of a Philippine-US exercise. Beijing strongly objected to the move.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed between the USSR and the US in 1987. It prevented the deployment of missile launchers, land-based ballistic missiles and cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. In 2019, the US withdrew from the agreement. Moscow was ready not to produce or deploy missiles as long as Washington did not deploy these systems in any region of the world.

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United States Asia Pacific

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