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9 Dec, 2008 02:41

Was US anti-missile test aimed at Russia and China?

A consultant to the head of Russia's Strategic Rocket Forces has said that a simulated anti-missile test by the U.S. was not aimed at stopping a North Korean threat as Washington had claimed.

Colonel-general Viktor Yesin said last Friday’s test had China and Russia in mind.

He said: “To avoid agitating public opinion, U.S. Missile Defense Agency officials say the test was aimed at intercepting North Korean and Iranian rockets. But we missile specialists understand that it was in fact aimed at stopping Russian and Chinese intercontinental missiles.”

During the test last Friday an interceptor rocket was launched from California to knock down a missile launched from Alaska.

America spends some $US 10 billion a year on an anti-missile network claiming it's necessary to counteract growing threats from ‘rogue nations’ such as North Korea and Iran.

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