Chinese FM: Countermeasures against THAAD ‘understandable’

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It is understandable for China and regional countries to take necessary countermeasures against the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) to safeguard their interests, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

“It is totally understandable that countries in the region are firmly opposed to the deployment of the THAAD system by the US and South Korea. It goes without saying that we do not want any tension, still less the escalation of tension in the region,” said Lu Kang, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Lu Kang, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry at a press conference in Beijing, China on January 13, 2017. /MOFA Photo‍

Lu noted that if China or other countries in the region have valid and legitimate concerns about security, and take necessary measures to protect their security interests, that is understandable.

China and Russia on Thursday agreed to take further countermeasures against the proposed deployment of the THAAD system in South Korea. They promised to strengthen communication and coordination in dealing with the complicated and sensitive situation, said a statement released after the sixth China-Russia consultation on the security situation in Northeast Asia.

This US Department of Defense/Missile Defense Agency handout photo shows a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor launched from a THAAD battery located on Wake Island, during Flight Test Operational (FTO)-02 Event 2a, conducted on November 1, 2015. /CFP Photo‍

In the statement, the two countries again stressed their opposition to the planned deployment of THAAD and called on the US and South Korea to stop the process and all parties concerned to exercise restraint to avoid aggravating tension.

Meanwhile, Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada on Friday inspected the THAAD system deployed at a US base in Guam in the Western Pacific, and indicated that the ministry will continue to examine the possibility of Japan introducing THAAD.

"We have no concrete plans to introduce THAAD, but we want to explore what is possible," Inada was quoted by Kyodo News Agency as saying.

File photo shows Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada visiting the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on December 29, 2016. /CFP Photo

In July last year, South Korea and the US announced their plan to install THAAD by the end of this year in the southern county of Seongju, 296 kilometers southeast of the capital Seoul. The decision led to strong opposition from both home and abroad.

China has repeatedly voiced its strong opposition to the THAAD deployment, saying it seriously damages the strategic balance in the region and harms the strategic security interests of relevant regional countries. Beijing has warned Seoul that the THAAD deployment would allow US military radar systems to seep into Chinese territory.

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