China said Tuesday that it "will not stand idly by" and will take countermeasures if the U.S. deploys intermediate-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region, which
Washington has said it plans to do within months.
The statement from the director of the foreign ministry's Arms Control Department, Fu Cong, follows the U.S.'s withdrawal last week from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a move Fu said would have a "direct negative impact on the global strategic stability" as well as security in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.