The United States' argument that Chinese intermediate-range missiles were the reason for withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia is invalid since no Chinese missiles are capable of reaching the US, Director-General of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Arms Control Department Fu Cong said on Wednesday
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th July, 2020) The United States' argument that Chinese intermediate-range missiles were the reason for withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia is invalid since no Chinese missiles are capable of reaching the US, Director-General of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Arms Control Department Fu Cong said on Wednesday.
"I know that the US is using the Chinese factor to exit the INF Treaty. I think they are not entirely sincere and honest. Indeed, China has developed land-based medium-range missiles, but there is one big difference. Chinese missiles are all located in China, they cannot reach the territory of the United States," Fu said at a news conference in Beijing.
The official went on to stress the destabilizing potential of the US' efforts to deploy its own intermediate-range missile within striking distance of China.
"The short range of these missiles also means that the response time is also very short, this is an extremely destabilizing factor," Fu told reporters.
The INF Treaty between the US and Russia (initially the Soviet Union) was a hallmark of the detente diplomacy towards the end of the Cold War and guaranteed the nuclear safety of Europe. In 2019, US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal despite repeated calls from Russia and the international community to renegotiate and appease. Earlier this month, the US Department of State began making overtures that China must join trilateral arms control treaties along with Russia, something Beijing has dismissed as its arsenal and stockpiles are far smaller than US and Russian equivalents.
