China warned today of a possible arms race if the United States goes ahead with its controversial missile defence plan, but Russia said it was ready for talks on new defence ideas.
Beijing and Moscow were reacting to President Bush's call yesterday for replacement of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty - a bedrock of US-Russian nuclear stability for three decades - to make way for the new plan.
Mr Bush said the ABM treaty needed to be replaced to allow a missile system that would protect the US and its allies from attacks by what Washington calls rogue nations or accidental launches.
China's response came in a commentary by the official Xinhua news agency attacking the planned National Missile Defence system.
"The US missile defence plan has violated the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, will destroy the balance of international security forces and could cause a new arms race," it said.
"Therefore, it has been widely condemned by the international community."
But Russian Foreign Minister Mr Igor Ivanov, while backing the ABMTreaty as a key part of global security, said he was ready for talks with the United States on new structures for international defence.
British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair has so far declined tomake clear whether he would approve a request to upgrade US radar facilities in northern England for their role in any missile defence network, saying he has not yet been formally asked.