US eyes intermediate range missiles in Asia

Ministers push dialogue

SYDNEY, Aug 3, (Agencies): US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said on Saturday that he was in favour of placing ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles in Asia relatively soon, a day after the United States withdrew from a landmark arms control treaty.

Esper’s comments are likely to raise concern about an arms race and could add to an already tense relationship with China.

“Yeah, I would like to,” Esper said, when asked whether he was considering placing such missiles in Asia.

“I would prefer months ... but these things tend to take longer than you expect,” he told reporters travelling with him to Sydney when asked about a timeline for when the missiles could be deployed.

The United States formally left the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia on Friday after determining Moscow was violating the treaty, an accusation that the Kremlin has denied.

On Friday, senior US officials said that any deployment of such weaponry would be years away.

Within the next few weeks, the United States is expected to test a ground-launched cruise missile, and in November, the Pentagon will aim to test an intermediate-range ballistic missile.

Both would be tests of conventional weapons – and not nuclear.

The 1987 pact banned ground-launched nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 310 to 3,400 miles (500-5,500 km).

US officials have been warning for years that the United States was being put at a disadvantage by China’s development of increasingly sophisticated land-based missile forces, which the Pentagon could not match due to the US treaty with Russia. The United States has so far relied on other capabilities as a counterbalance to China, like missiles fired from US ships or aircraft. But advocates for a US land-based missile response say that is the best way to deter Chinese use of its muscular land-based missile forces.

“I don’t see an arms race happening, I do see us taking proactive measures to develop a capability that we need for both the European theater and certainly this theater,” Esper said, referring to the Asia-Pacific region.

While no decisions have been made, the United States could theoretically put easier-to-hide, road-mobile conventional missiles in places like Guam.

Esper did not say where in Asia he was considering placing missiles, but he is expected to meet senior regional leaders during his visit to Asia.

In a sign of the importance Asia – and countering China – has for the Pentagon, Esper is visiting the region just two months after his predecessor made a similar trip.

In Australia, Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will take part in talks with their Australian counterparts.

The meetings come amid heightened Western concern about Chinese influence in the Pacific.

In addition to China, the talks and much of Esper’s trip, are likely to be dominated by discussion on what the departure of the US from the INF treaty means for Asia and recent missile tests by North Korea.

US President Donald Trump sought on Friday to play down North Korea’s three tests in eight days of short-range missiles, saying they did not break any agreement he had with Kim Jong Un.

Asian allies will also have questions for Esper on a US-led maritime force in the Strait of Hormuz.

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Asia-Pacific foreign ministers called for the peaceful resolution to regional disputes at Friday’s close of an annual security meeting, which was eclipsed by the US-China rivalry and a deepening trade spat between Japan and South Korea.

Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, who chaired the ASEAN Regional Forum, said members supported calls for the resumption of stalled denuclearization talks between the US and North Korea, which have been clouded by Pyongyang’s recent missile launches. The forum is an offshoot of annual meetings of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations that adds the participation of key dialogue partners such as the US, China, Japan and South Korea.

Tension between Japan and South Korea heated up the meetings, but Don said ministers pushed the two sides to advance talks to seek a compromise. He said the ongoing USChina trade dispute also raised concern.

Japan earlier Friday removed South Korea from a “whitelist” of countries with preferential trade status, prompting Seoul to retaliate in kind.

The dispute, with roots in long-standing bitterness over Japan’s actions toward Korea before and during World War II, threatens to disrupt Seoul’s electronics industry by hindering its purchase of semiconductor components.