‘US defence measure no threat to China’

The US has repeatedly tried to rebuff anger from China about Seoul’s move to host a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) unit with the US military. Mark A Milley, Chief of Staff of the US Army, told his People’s Liberation Army counterpart, Li Zuocheng that THAAD was a defensive measure, the US Army said in a statement released by the US Embassy in Beijing. 

THAAD “is a defensive measure to protect South Koreans and Americans from the North Korean ballistic missile threat and is not a threat in any way to China”, the statement paraphrased Milley as saying. South Korea has said too that the move is purely to counter growing missile threats from the North and was not intended to target China, but Beijing has protested it would destabilise the regional security balance. North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and followed up with a satellite launch and a string of test launches of missiles in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. 

China and the United States have been at odds over the disputed South China Sea as well. China has been upset with US freedom of navigation patrols in the waters there, and the US has expressed concern about Chinese aircraft and ships operating in a dangerous manner close to US forces. Milley said the US wants to maintain open channels of communications with China’s military to “reduce the risk of crisis or miscalculation and candidly address differences”, the statement added. Milley “reaffirmed the US commitment to adhere to international rules and standards and encouraged the Chinese to do the same as a way to reduce regional tensions”. 

Meanwhile, China on Tuesday successfully launched the world’s first quantum satellite which boasts of establishing “hack-proof” communications between space and the ground as it is equipped with security features to prevent wire-tapping and intercepts. The satellite was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in north-western Gobi Desert, the state- run news agency said. The 600-plus-kilogramme satellite will circle the Earth once every 90 minutes after it enters a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 kms. It is nicknamed “Micius,” after a fifth century BC Chinese philosopher and scientist who has been credited as the first one in human history conducting optical experiments.