Russia, China slam new US missile test

Russia and China have warned that a new US missile test had heightened military tensions and risked sparking an arms race.

The US and Russia ditched the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty this month after accusing each other of violating the accord.

Washington said the agreement also tied its hands in dealing with other powers.

The US Department of Defense announced yesterday that it had tested a type of ground-launched missile that was banned under the 1987 INF agreement, which limited the use of nuclear and conventional medium-range weapons.

Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency TASS that the US has obviously



taken a course towards the escalation of military tensions. 

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said this measure from the US will trigger a new round of an arms race, leading to an escalation of military confrontation. He warned that the test will have a serious negative impact on the international and regional security situation.

The missile was launched from the US Navy-controlled San Nicolas Island off the coast of California.

The INF banned all land-based missiles that could travel between 500 and 5,500 kilometres in an effort to abolish the class of nuclear arms that then most threatened Europe.