Briefs | US seeks to ease Chinese anger over missile defense plans

A senior U.S. military official says an advanced U.S. missile defense system that is to be deployed in South Korea only targets North Korea, not China. Vice Adm. James D. Syring, director of the Missile Defense Agency, said the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system will never be used against China. Yonhap news agency quoted him as saying that “We don’t defend against China as a threat.” China has grown increasingly angry over the plan to deploy the missile system, which critics say is capable of tracking missiles inside China. Chinese state media have published daily attacks against the U.S. and South Korea, and China has reportedly canceled events involving South Korean entertainers. Syring spoke in a group interview with South Korean media, including Yonhap.

Japan, Philippines to Beijing: Respect law for Asian stability

The top diplomats of Japan and the Philippines have called on China to avoid intimidation and follow the rule of law in disputed waters where Beijing is defying an arbitration ruling that invalidated its vast territorial claims. Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida made the call yesterday after meeting in Davao, where they discussed ways to enhance ties and their countries’ territorial disputes with China. Yasay urged China to make sure that maritime order and security and the rule of law are “completely and uncompromisingly” respected. Referring to China, he says Japan and the Philippines have had the same experience “with respect to certain actions that use force [and] intimidation.” Kishida says maritime order based on the rule of law is indispensable for regional stability.