China warns of strong response to US medium-range missile deployment in Asia-Pacific

Beijing has issued a stern warning regarding the potential deployment of US medium-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region.

In a statement delivered at the 11th Beijing Xiangshan Security Forum, Lieutenant General He Lei of the People's Liberation Army underscored China's opposition to the United States' missile plans, describing them as a significant security threat to regional stability, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

Lei emphasized that the deployment of such missiles, whether in allied countries such as the Philippines or Japan, would exacerbate regional tensions and pose a grave risk to security throughout the Asia-Pacific.

He assured that China would implement "strong measures" to counteract these developments, asserting that these actions would be critical to safeguarding regional peace and stability.

The 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum kicked off on September 12. The number and level of participants has exceeded all previous years, with over 500 official representatives from more than 100 countries and international organizations, as well as over 200 experts and scholars from both China and abroad. 

The forum comes at a time when China and the US are enhancing military exchanges, with foreign media outlets reporting that the US will send higher-ranking officials compared to last year. 
The theme of this year's forum is "Promoting Peace for a Shared Future," with four plenary sessions that include topics such as "Security cooperation and Asia-Pacific Prosperity and Stability." 

There will also be eight simultaneous special sessions covering issues such as "ASEAN and Security Architecture of Asia-Pacific" and "Maintaining Northeast Asian Security."