SHANGHAI, Sept 29 (Askume) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the United States’ deployment of medium-range missiles in the Philippines “undermines regional peace and stability,” China’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
In a speech to South Korean Foreign Minister Choe Tae-yol in New York on Saturday, Wang Yi also called for avoiding “war or chaos on the Korean Peninsula,” South Korea’s Foreign Ministry posted on its website.
The United States this year deployed the Typhon system, which can be armed with cruise missiles capable of striking Chinese targets. China has called for the system to be scrapped and Russia has condemned its first deployment in the Indo-Pacific, accusing Washington of fuelling an arms race.
Wang said the deployment was “not in line with the interests of regional countries”.
Taiwan’s southern neighbor, the Philippines, is a key part of US strategy in Asia . China claims the Philippines as its territory and would become an indispensable staging ground for US troops to aid Taipei in the event of a Chinese attack.
Wang Yi said that exchanges and cooperation between China and South Korea have become more active this year.