Amid reports of China deploying long range intercontinental ballistic missiles near Russian border with the aim to be able to reach targets in the US, Beijing today said it was just a “speculation spread online”.
When asked by a Russian journalist about the reports, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, "What you mentioned is a speculation spread online."
"We attach great importance to the development of China-Russia relationship. Our relationship is developing at a high level with a deepening mutual trust. We would like to further exchange our cooperation in different fields," she said, appreciating "very positive" remarks from the Russian side on missile deployment reports.
Russian official news agency TASS quoted China's state- run Global Times as saying that DF-41 ballistic missiles have been deployed in northeastern Heilongjiang province near Russian border.
"China has deployed inter-continental ballistic missiles near Russia with the aim to be able to reach targets in the US, Canada and Europe," the president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, Doctor of Military Science Konstantin Sivkov told.
"This is an inter-continental class missile with an effective range of 10,000 to 12000 kms. The missile’s dead zone is no less than three thousand kms. A large territory of Russia, practically the entire Far East and West Siberia are not within the missile’s reach," Sivkov said.