Beijing: China has a range of economic, diplomatic and military options to retaliate if the US and South Korea proceed with deployment of an advanced missile defence system, experts said Friday, as Beijing remained vague in its threats against the plan.
Such steps could raise the stakes for Washington and Seoul in a controversial deployment that China regards as a major security threat, while complicating matters for South Korea as it faces domestic political divisions and significant public opposition.
China's official Xinhua News Agency said Beijing and Moscow agreed to take "further countermeasures" in response to the plan during security talks between the two countries in Moscow on Thursday.
"The countermeasures will be aimed at safeguarding interests of China and Russia and the strategic balance in the region," Xinhua quoted the agreement as saying.
The report gave no details and a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on Friday said only that China has a legitimate right to defend its security interests. "China believes it is a serious threat to China's security interests and for the region," Lu Kang said at a daily briefing. "I believe that as long as our country has legitimate security concerns, it is understandable that necessary measures be taken to safeguard such interests."
The proposed Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or Thaad, radar system aims to guard against North Korean missiles, a threat that drew renewed attention after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced in his annual New Year's address that the country had reached the "final stages" of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile.
China has campaigned relentlessly against the deployment, warning of unspecified retaliation and leading to a sharp downturn in relations with Seoul. China says the system's powerful radar can peer deep into its territory.
