Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe signed a document extending for ten years the agreement on mutual notifications on launches of ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles. According to the RF Ministry of Defense, the protocol signing ceremony was held in the videoconference mode.
An intergovernmental Russian-Chinese agreement providing for notification of missile launches near the Russian-Chinese border was signed in 2009. Ministers noted that it has proven its effectiveness and serves to strengthen confidence-building measures between countries. “This is especially important when the arms control system has been virtually destroyed, the deployment of US global missile defense components continues, and intentions are declared to deploy new American-made intermediate and shorter-range missiles in the region,” Shoigu said.
In turn, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said that “the signing of the protocol … is not only an important measure of confidence and transparency between our countries, but also serves as an example of ensuring global strategic stability and creating exemplary relations between major powers.”