WORLD
7
Wednesday August 21, 2019China warned Tuesday that the testing
of a medium-range cruise missile by the
US would start a new “arms race,” one
day after the US Department of Defense
announced that it tested a new ground-
based cruise missile which can hit a tar-
get after more than 500 kilometers of
fl ight.
“The US move will trigger a new
round of arms race, leading to an escala-
tion of military confrontation, which in
turn will have a serious negative impact
on the international and regional secu-
rity situation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Geng Shuang said.
The US Department of Defense an-
nounced on Monday it had tested a type
of ground-launched missile that was
banned under the 1987 INF agreement,
which limited the use of nuclear and
conventional medium-range weapons.
The missile was launched from the
US Navy-controlled San Nicolas Island
off the coast of California.
Geng pointed out that the US land-
based medium- and short-range mis-
sile test, which was previously pro-
hibited by the Intermediate-Range
Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, came less
than three weeks since it quit the treaty on
August 2.
“This shows that the real purpose of
the US’ withdrawal from the treaty was
to seek ‘self-deregulation,’ let go of the
development of advanced missiles, and
seek military superiority,” Geng said.
“We advise the US to abandon the
outdated concept of the Cold War men-tality and zero-sum game, exercise re-
straint in the development of arms, and
earnestly safeguard the existing arms
control system,” Geng said.
Moscow on Tuesday accused the US
of ramping up military tensions with a
new missile test. Russia’s deputy foreign
minister Sergei Ryabkov said the new
US test was a “cause of regret.”
“The US has obviously taken a course
toward escalation of military tensions.
We won’t react to provocations,” Ryab-
kov told state news agency TASS.
Ryabkov added that Moscow would
refrain from using such missile systems
“if and when we get them, as long as the
US does not deploy them anywhere in
the world.”
Speaking in France Monday beforenews of the US test launch broke, Presi-
dent Vladimir Putin also said that Russia
would only deploy medium- or shorter-
range missiles in response to similar
moves from the US.
“If the US produces such off en-
sive systems, we will also do so,” Putin
said at a press conference before meet-
ings with French leader Emmanuel
Macron.
Putin said it was the US that made
the decision to unilaterally withdraw.
The INF banned all land-based mis-
siles that could travel between 500 and
5,500 kilometers, in an eff ort to abolish
the class of nuclear arms that then most
threatened Europe.Global Times – AgenciesFrench President
Emmanuel
Macron (right)
explains
something
to Russia’s
President
Vladimir Putin,
at his summer
retreat at the
Bregancon
fortress on the
Mediterranean
coast, near
the village
of Bormes-
les-Mimosas,
France, on
Monday, at a
meeting before
the G7 Summit.
Photo: AFPChina warns of new global arms race
The EU on Tuesday rejected British Prime Min-
ister Boris Johnson’s demand to scrap the Irish
border backstop plan to achieve a Brexit deal, say-
ing he had off ered no workable alternative.
Johnson wrote to EU Council President Don-
ald Tusk on Monday to insist that Britain could
not accept what he called the “anti-democratic”
backstop, a mechanism to avoid border checks
between EU-member Ireland and British-ruled
Northern Ireland.
Since taking offi ce last month, Johnson
has been adamant Britain will leave the EU on
October 31 come what may and has stepped
up preparations for a chaotic “no deal” de-
parture that would cause major economic
disruption.
But the European Commission, the EU execu-
tive which has led Brexit negotiations with Lon-
don, dismissed the proposal in Johnson’s letter
that the backstop could be replaced with a “com-
mitment” to fi nd “alternative arrangements.”
“The letter does not provide a legal operational
solution to prevent the return of a hard border on
the island of Ireland,” commission spokeswom-
an Natasha Bertaud told reporters.
“It does not set out what any alternative ar-
rangements could be, and in fact it recognizes
there is no guarantee that such arrangements
will be in place by the end of the transitional
period.”
Brussels insists that the backstop – which
would keep the UK in EU customs arrangements
to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland- is essential to preserve the integrity of European
trade and to avoid risking a return of sectarian
violence in Northern Ireland.
Tusk himself took to Twitter to give a robust
response to the hard line struck by Johnson’s gov-
ernment in recent weeks.
“The backstop is an insurance to avoid a hard
border on the island of Ireland unless and until
an alternative is found,” Tusk wrote.
AFPFrench President Emmanuel Macron
and Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Mon-
day agreed changes in Ukraine had
bolstered the chances of peace in its
east but clashed on Syria, as the Rus-
sian leader made a rare bilateral visit
to the key EU power.
Macron, who hosted Putin at
his summer residence in south-
ern France, made clear he want-
ed to keep contacts with Moscow
alive on a range of issues even at a
time of spiraling tensions with the
West.
The pair both expressed opti-
mism that the arrival of Volodymyr
Zelensky as Ukraine’s president had
improved the chances of ending the
half-decade confl ict during their
meeting which lasted four-and-a-half
hours. Putin departed after dinner
around 11:30 pm.
But they publicly sparred over the
Syria civil war, where the Kremlin is
a leading backer of Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad.
The relationship between Putin
and Macron has been marked by
wariness and tensions since Macron
came to power in 2017.
Macron said he hoped to attend a
summit with the leaders of Ukraine,
Russia and Germany – the so-called
Normandy format – “in the next few
weeks” to try to end fi ghting in east-
ern Ukraine.
“There is a real opportunity to put
an end to the confl ict that has been
going on for fi ve years,” he told re-
porters in an open-air press confer-
ence at the start of talks.
Putin, who arrived at the remote
retreat by helicopter, said: “There are
things that are worth talking about
and that give grounds for cautious
optimism.”
Macron also expressed “profound
worry” about the bombing by gov-
ernment forces of Syria’s northern
region of Idlib, telling Putin that it
was “urgent” a cease-fi re went into
force.But Putin appeared not to be
swayed by the French president’s ap-
peal. “We support the eff orts of the
Syrian army... to end these terrorist
threats,” he replied, adding: “We nev-
er said that in Idlib terrorists would
feel comfortable.”
Macron hosted Putin on a balmy
early evening at the Bregancon for-
tress on France’s Mediterranean
coast, just days before he hosts world
leaders including US President Don-
ald Trump for the August 24-
Group of Seven (G7) summit in Biar-
ritz.
Russia was slung out of what
was the G8 in 2014 after it seized
Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of
Crimea.
Macron has taken a keen interest
in brokering an end to the confl ict
and forging any progress would be a
major feather in his cap as an interna-
tional statesman.AFPJohnson Brexit letter
off ers no alternatives
to Irish backstop: EU
Macron, Putin see chance on Ukraine, clash on Syria
u US test threatens international, regional security: FM
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