US wants to sign ICBM launch notification agreement with China

The United States is seeking to sign an agreement with China on notifying each other of test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), said Richard Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Policy and Counterproliferation.

Richard Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Policy and Counterproliferation says, “I think it’s positive that China recently provided advance notice of its ICBM launch. Not to all parties in the region, but to the US. And, as has already been reported, the US reciprocated on a one-time basis with regard to a planned regular test [of its intercontinental ballistic missile Minuteman-3. Yes, it was scheduled for the day of the vote.  But it was a planned regular test. We provided very good advance notice on this matter,” a Pentagon representative said at a conference on nuclear issues at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. The activities of this organization are considered undesirable on the territory of Russia, According to Pravda.

“However, it would be even better to have a real agreement of some format that would allow this exchange of information on ICBM launches to be done regularly, and not one-time, in certain cases,” Richard Johnson further said. According to his assessment, such an agreement would help “reduce risks” between the United States and China. It would be “very, very useful in this regard,” the US military department representative believes.

According to Bloomberg,” The Pentagon praised China for its transparency before the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean, in a sign that military communication between the superpowers is improving.

“We did receive some advanced notification of this ICBM test and we believe that that was a good thing,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said on Wednesday. “It’s a step in the right direction and it does lead to preventing any misperception or miscalculation.”