JEJU ISLAND, South Korea, Aug. 17 (Yonhap) -- A Chinese expert warned Thursday that the ongoing deployment of a U.S. missile defense system to South Korea will likely spark a "vicious cycle" that could lead to a regional arms race.
Jiang Yuechun, head of China Institute of International Studies, still expressed hope that there are still windows of opportunity for the two neighbors to find middle ground and restore strained relations.
Jiang was visiting the southern resort island of Jeju to attend a forum jointly organized by South Korean and Chinese foreign ministries to discuss public diplomacy efforts aimed at boosting exchanges between the two countries.
"It seems that the THAAD deployment in South Korea is almost complete and that it would be difficult to take the decision back," he said. "What could China do in response? It would be inevitable for Beijing to expand investment in its defense capabilities. It would be natural to establish a system to counter the X-band radar."
"Installing the THAAD system would result in an unhappy consequence of creating a vicious cycle that would lead to an arms race involving China, South Korea and other Northeast Asian countries," he added.
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