China on Tuesday said it will "resolutely take necessary measures" to safeguard the nation’s security interests after the first elements of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system arrived in the Republic of Korea (ROK).
"We are firmly opposed to the deployment of THAAD in the Republic of Korea by the US and the ROK," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang stated.
"China will resolutely take necessary measures to defend our own security interests. All consequences entailed from this will be borne by the US and the ROK."
Geng added that China’s stance on the THAAD issue has been consistently clear.
The first elements of the THAAD system arrive in the ROK, March 7, 2016. /CFP Photo
“We strongly urge relevant parties to stop the deployment and not to travel down that wrong path,” Geng said.
The first THAAD hardware, including two mobile launchers, arrived on Monday at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, which is about 70 kilometers south of Seoul. They were transported to the base by a US C-17 transport plane, according to a United States Pacific Command statement.
Protesters outside the ROK's Defense Ministry in Seoul, March 7, 2017. /CFP Photo
THAAD is composed of six mobile launchers, 48 interceptors, one X-band radar and a fire and control unit. It is designed to intercept and destroy short and medium-range ballistic missiles during their final phase of flight.
The US and the ROK claim THAAD is necessary to counter the DPRK's missile threat. China says the system's powerful radar could affect Chinese security and that it will do nothing to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
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