Russia vows measures against US deployment of INF missiles
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The Russian Foreign Minister underscores the potential repercussions of the United States deploying ground-based missile systems in the relevant regions.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, as quoted by Sputnik, that Russia intends to implement significant measures in reaction to the potential deployment of ground-based missile systems by the United States, a move that was previously prohibited under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
"Our commitment to this moratorium is strictly linked to the potential appearance of US-made ground-based INF missiles in the relevant regions," he said.
"Due to the characteristics and features of the use of weapons of this class, the issue of their deployment by hostile countries is very sensitive from the point of view of Russian national security," he stressed.
Concerning the United States, this aspect becomes crucial due to its direct connection with other elements impacting strategic stability, as per the Russian Foreign Minister.
Lavrov further emphasized that if Washington introduces additional missile risks, it is evident that Russia will need to implement substantial retaliatory measures.
Concurrently, Lavrov assured that "in the absence of extraordinary steps on the part of the United States to increase force pressure on us by other means, Russia will not be the first to deploy missile weapons previously prohibited under the INF Treaty."
"However, judging by the Pentagon’s preparations, it won’t be long before the Americans take practical action to deploy ground-based INF missiles in various regions of the world. So the moment when we will have to make the necessary political decisions is, in fact, maturing," Lavrov concluded.
US reviving WWII airfield amid Pacific tensions
In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Tinian Island Airfield, an abandoned US airfield from the World War II era that was once key to dropping the nuclear bomb on Japan, is being revived.
"Rehabilitation of World War II-era airfields has provided Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) a rapidly executable avenue to enhance infrastructure in the region," a spokesperson told AFP.
Though the statement mentioned a "sense of urgency" enabling PACAF to "enhance... warfighting capability and improve deterrent posture alongside Allies and partners," it did not mention China directly, the news agency pointed out.
Tinian's old military airfield "has extensive pavement underneath the overgrown jungle. We'll be clearing that jungle out between now and summertime," Air Force General Kenneth Wilsbach recently told Japanese outlet Nikkei Asia.
Meanwhile, military projects for "fuel and airfield development" at the island's nearby civilian airport are already underway, according to the PACAF spokesperson.
According to AFP, the airfield at Tinian was perhaps the most important -- and the busiest -- in the world in 1945, as its six runways hosted US B-29 bombers carrying out attacks against Japan, some 1,500 miles (2,300 kilometers) away.
On August 6 and August 9 of that year, the planes dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing some 200,000 people.
US to deploy ground-based missiles in Indo-Pacific in 2024: Reports
Earlier this month, Nikkei Asia reported, citing US Army Pacific spokesperson Rob Philips, that the United States has potential plans to deploy land-based versions of the Tomahawk cruise missile and the Standard missile-6 in the Indo-Pacific region in 2024.
At the time, the newspaper reported that the United States has potential plans to deploy land-based versions of the Tomahawk cruise missile and the Standard missile-6 (SM-6) with an estimated range of 500 kilometers (310.6 miles) to 2,700 kilometers, adding that the expected location and timing was not specified.
It is worth highlighting that this is the US' first arsenal in the region since the end of the Cold War and the first deployment of intermediate-range missiles by the United States since the country withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (the INF Treaty).
Back in 2019, former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the INF treaty, signed between the Soviet Union and the US in 198, which banned the countries from developing and possessing ballistic and cruise missiles.
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