US missile test will result in arms race, seriously damage international security, warns China

Washington's recent test of a ground-launched cruise missile will result in a new round of arms race and will jeopardise international security, the Chinese foreign ministry's spokesman, Geng Shuang, said on Tuesday.

On August 2, the Russian-US Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which banned ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometres (310 to 3,417 miles), was terminated.

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The US Department of Defense conducted on Sunday a flight test of a conventional ground-launched cruise missile, which hit its target after flying more than 500 kilometres.

"These actions by the United States will result in a new arms race and an escalation of military tensions, and will also seriously damage the structure of regional and international security," Geng said at a briefing.

"This amply confirms that the United States indeed aimed at getting rid of restrictions, at developing advanced missiles and at securing unilateral military supremacy when it withdrew from the [INF] treaty," Geng stressed.