In his Asian tour in August, US defense secretary Mark Esper said that he would like to deploy new ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles in Asia as soon as possible. That same month, the Pentagon conducted its first test of such a missile since the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, banning such weapons, expired in August. Many Asian states have also been enhancing their missile forces in the region. The Chinese and Russian governments have warned that the appearance of new long-range ground precision-strike US missiles in Asia would threaten regional stability and jeopardize other arms control treaties. They have long made similar arguments against the missile defenses in Japan, South Korea, and the United States even as they augment their own offensive and defensive missile capabilities in the region. As President Trump observed when commenting on yet another North Korean test launch, “We are in the world of missiles folks, whether you like it or not.”¹

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