US deployment of "Typhon" missiles to Japan causes outrage in Beijing, Moscow

Russia and China have separately criticised Japan for permitting the United States to deploy “Typhon” intermediate-range missiles during joint military exercises in Japan next month, calling the move a threat to regional stability.

Moscow and Beijing urged Japan to reconsider even the temporary deployment of the US missile system, Russian media outlet Kommersant reported.

“We view this as another destabilising step as part of Washington’s course toward ramping up the potential of ground-based shorter and intermediate-range missiles,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on August 29.

If Japan does not reverse its decision on the Typhon deployment, Russia “will have to take appropriate military-technical measures,” she added.

“We will assume that the entire responsibility for the further degradation of the situation in the region rests on the Japanese side,” Zakharova said.

On the same day, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun responded, urging the US and Japan to support regional peace and stability rather than undermine it with medium-range missile deployments, even temporarily.

“China always opposes the United States deploying the Typhon Mid-Range Capability missile system in Asian countries,” Guo said, according to state-run Xinhua news agency.

“We urge Japan to take a hard look at its history of aggression, follow the path of peaceful development, act prudently in military and security areas, and refrain from further losing the trust of its Asian neighbours and the international community,” he added.

A spokesperson for Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Force told Reuters that the Typhon would be deployed to the US Marine Air Station in Iwakuni, on Honshu island, roughly 890km (553 miles) west of Tokyo.

It remains unclear if Typhon missiles will be fired as part of the “Resolute Dragon” exercises between US and Japanese forces, which are scheduled from September 11 to 25.

By Nazrin Sadigova