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China Protests U.S.-Japan Effort on Missile Shield
Chinese officials say that a proposed U.S.-Japan collaboration on a new missile defense system could seriously destabilize the Asia-Pacific region.
By GSReport
Start Date: 3/10/99
China has protested plans by the governments of the U.S. and Japan to collaborate on developing a new missile defense system. Japan is reportedly worried about North Korea's growing missile capability, as evidenced by the launch of a three-stage rocket from North Korea last year. But China says it is concerned that deployment of sophisticated missile defenses in Japan would have a destabilizing influence on the Asia-Pacific region.
China's foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan said on March 7 that even research on the potential missile shield was gravely worrying. According to the Associated Press, Tang said at a news confernece that development of the system would "exert a negative impact on the global and regional strategic balance and stability into the next century. So China is very much concerned about it."
China has expressed concern about a possible regional arms race and is particularly opposed to any missile shield that might be extended to include Taiwan, which China regards as a rebel province rather than a separate country. Tang said that "the Chinese government and the Chinese people would of course take the necessary strong response" to any effort on the part of the U.S. or Japan to shield Taiwan from missile attack.
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