Russian and Chinese ‘Strongly Condemn’ U.S. THAAD Deployment in South Korea after Moscow Meeting

PRESS RELEASE

Russian and Chinese ‘Strongly Condemn’ U.S. THAAD Deployment in South Korea after Moscow Meeting

July 29, 2016 (EIRNS)—Following the fourth round of meetings of the Russian-Chinese Dialogue on Security in Northeast Asia in in Moscow, yesterday, the Russian Foreign Ministry put out a statement announcing that China and Russia "strongly condemn" the US THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) deployment in South Korea, and accusing the United States of trying to upset the "regional strategic balance."

The Dialogue meeting, which covered a wide range of issues confirmed the partnership between the two countries and reiterated Joint Agreement—signed by Presidents Putin and Xi Jinping—

"to promote cooperation and coordinate efforts to protect their respective national interests, primarily in the sphere of security,"

says the Foreign Ministry press release. The crux of the agreement is "strengthening global strategic stability."

Of major importance is the deployment of the THAAD missiles in South Korea, said the press release, calling the decision part of a US effort to "unilaterally" develop a

"strategic missile defence system that is deployed across the globe, including Northeast Asia." This would "adversely affect the international and regional strategic balance."

"The Russian and Chinese parties believe that such actions by the United States and the Republic of Korea are not consistent with their purported goals and can cause serious damage to the strategic security of neighbouring countries, including Russia and China, and further complicate the situation on the Korean Peninsula. The participants strongly condemned these plans and discussed the possibility of coordinating more closely in the wake of these unfavourable developments."

The sides also reiterated their commitment to diplomacy to solve the problems between North and South Korea. They called for "an early resumption of the inter-Korean dialogue," and for goal of achieving a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.