Beijing issues stern response to reports Washington is planning to position intermediate-range missiles in Asian countries

‘Don’t fall victim to a US geopolitical plot,’ defence ministry spokesman says

“Relations between China and Japan would collapse if such missiles were deployed on Japanese soil.”

Besides positioning weapons of its own to counter the missile threat, Beijing might also introduce punitive measures against Japan to hit its economy, he said.

In 2017, China imposed economic sanctions on South Korea and boycotted all travel to its eastern neighbour after Seoul agreed to host the United States’ Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system, which consists of a sophisticated radar and interceptor missiles designed to spot and knock out incoming ballistic missiles.