The United States by threatening to deploy anti-missile systems close to the borders of both China and Russia is propelling the world towards a new and dangerous arms race, says Professor Dennis Etler, an American political analyst who has a decades-long interest in international affairs.
The US military announced last week that it will start formal talks with South Korea on placing the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) on the North Korea’s doorstep.
THAAD is designed to shoot down ballistic missiles in their terminal phase using a hit-to-kill approach. The Pentagon made the announcement after North Korea launched a long-range rocket carrying what it called a satellite.
Washington says it wants to deploy the anti-missile system THAAD to the Korean Peninsula as a deterrent against North Korea’s ballistic missile program.
Meanwhile, China says the possible US deployment of the anti-missile system to the Korean Peninsula is a threat to China’s strategic interests, and Beijing will not allow its “national security interests to be damaged.”