国内英语新闻:China, Russia criticize U.S. missile defense plan

BEIJING, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia on Tuesday accused the United States of damaging global and regional stability with its missile defense plans.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) plan is not conducive to settling the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and will seriously damage the national security interests of countries including China and Russia, said Maj. Gen. Cai Jun from the Joint Staff Department under China's Central Military Commission.

THAAD, an advanced missile defense system the United States plans to deploy in the ROK, apparently does not conform to its alleged purpose and is inconducive to the peninsula's peace and stability, Cai said at a press briefing jointly held by Chinese and Russian armed forces on the sidelines of the 7th Xiangshan Forum in Beijing.

"China resolutely opposes the THAAD plan and strongly urges the United States and ROK to change their minds," he said.

The United States' unilateral and "unconstructive" design of missile defense systems will cause the global security environment to deteriorate, damage global strategic balance and regional security and stability and hinder the process of nuclear disarmament and noNPRoliferation, he said.

"It may trigger a new wave of the arms race," said Cai.

China has insisted on political and diplomatic efforts from concerned parties to achieve common security, stability and cooperation, he added.

Lt. Gen. Viktor Poznikhir, from Russian military's General Staff, also said the U.S. missile maneuver has negatively affected global strategic stability.

The United States' deployment of anti-missile systems in Europe and Asia-Pacific is aimed at curbing Russia's and China's strategic nuclear strength and consolidating the U.S. hegemony, he said.

He said Russia doubts the United States' claims that THAAD is needed to defend against missiles from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The anti-missile system is strategically assaultive, which aims to establish absolute advantage over any potential rivals worldwide, said Poznikhir.

He also reiterated a Sino-Russian proposal that related parties should conclude a treaty through negotiation on preventing the deployment of weapons in outer-space and preventing the use of or threatening to use weapons against outer-space objects.

Russia also wants the United States to make a legally binding pledge that its European anti-missile system will not target Russia's strategic nuclear force, the Lt. Gen. said.