Chinese Foreign Ministry Calls New US Arms Development Policy 'Double Standards'

The United States demands that other countries cut their spending on arms research and development activities, while not implementing the same standards to their weapons of mass destruction research programs, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, commenting on the new US missile doctrine due to be released later on Thursday

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2019) The United States demands that other countries cut their spending on arms research and development activities, while not implementing the same standards to their weapons of mass destruction research programs, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, commenting on the new US missile doctrine due to be released later on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump will present a new missile defense strategy at Pentagon later in the day. The US Missile Defense Review will be the first official update to the US missile doctrine in nine years, and will call for urgent investments in missile-defense technologies, including a relaunch of the research projects that were closed after the end of the Cold War. According to a White House representative, the strategy will emphasize the reliance on nuclear deterrence rather than the development of a global missile defense system as a response to Russian and Chinese recent advancements in missile technologies.

"We have heard for many times how the United States was demanding other countries to limit the development of weapons, but they [the Americans] also say that they will continue the development of weapons of mass destruction, in my opinion, it is double standards," the spokeswoman said at a briefing with journalists.

Hua added that China hoped the United States would work on the maintenance of the global peace and stability.

"China hopes that the United States, as the biggest world power and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, will, together with other members of the Security Council, be able to contribute greatly to the global peace and stability," the spokeswoman said.

In October, Trump announced his country's intention to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) with Russia. The treaty prohibited the development of ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles whose ranges are between 500 and 5,500 kilometers (from 311 to 3,317 miles). The withdrawal means that the United States can now deploy ground-based missile systems in Asia, in high proximity to China.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry reacted to the US withdrawal by saying that such unilateral decision will have many negative effects on the international relations, adding that China is strictly following a defensive strategy in its military policy.