SYDNEY: Washington wants to quickly deploy new intermediate-range missiles in Asia, to counter the rise of China in the region, new US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Saturday.
“Yes I would like to,” Esper said when asked if the US was considering deploying new medium-range conventional weapons in Asia now Washington is no longer bound by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty.
“We would like to deploy a capability sooner rather than later,” Esper told reporters on a plane to Sydney at the start of a week-long tour of Asia. “I would prefer months ... But these things tend to take longer than you expect.”
The new Pentagon chief did not specify where the US intended to deploy these weapons.
“I would not speculate because those things depend on plans, it’s those things you always discuss with your allies,” he said.
Washington withdrew from the INF treaty on Friday after accusing Russia of violating it for years.
Under the pact signed in 1987 by then US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Washington and Moscow agreed to limit the use of conventional and nuclear medium-range missiles (with a range of 500-5,000 kilometers, 300-3,000 miles).
But its unraveling had been on the cards for months amid worsening ties between Russia and the US.
Washington is now free to compete with China, whose arsenal is largely made up of weapons prohibited under the INF Treaty, to which Beijing was never a signatory.
Esper said China should not be surprised by the US plans.
“That should be no surprise because we have been talking about that for some time now,” he said.
“And I want to say that 80 percent of their inventory is INF range systems. So that should not surprise that we would want to have a like capability,” he said.
US wants to quickly deploy new missiles in Asia: US Defense Secretary
US wants to quickly deploy new missiles in Asia: US Defense Secretary
- “Yes I would like to,” Esper said when asked if the US was considering deploying new medium-range conventional weapons in Asia
- Washington withdrew from the INF treaty on Friday after accusing Russia of violating it for years
UK starts visa requirements for St. Lucians
- Saint Lucia’s government said it was actively engaging with British government
- It said it would continue talks to “explore pathways for maintaining strong mobility arrangements“
CASTRIES: Britain has introduced a visa requirement for Saint Lucians effective from Thursday citing a “notable increase” in nationals from the small Caribbean nation claiming asylum, Saint Lucia’s government said in a statement.
Immigration is one of Britain’s most politically sensitive issues, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has sought to show it is tightening the system as the populist Reform UK party gains ground in opinion polls.
Saint Lucia, a former British colony, has a population of about 180,000. Last year, the World Bank estimated a net emigration of just 23 people.
Its government said it was actively engaging with British government and would continue talks to “explore pathways for maintaining strong mobility arrangements.”
It said it was informed in a letter dated Wednesday.
Saint Lucia is a member of the Commonwealth, an association of mostly former British colonies. Before the 1970s, nationals of many of these had the right to live and work in the UK. Saint Lucians previously needed a 16 pound Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) to travel to the UK. \
There will be a six-week transition for ETA holders, its government said.
On Tuesday, Britain said it would block study visas for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan and halt work visas for Afghans.
