China says US missile deployment in Philippines undermines peace

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the U.S. deployment of intermediate-range missiles in the Philippines "undermines regional peace and stability", the foreign ministry said on Sunday.

Speaking to South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul in New York on Saturday, Wang also called for avoiding "war or chaos on the Korean Peninsula", the ministry said in a post on its website.

The U.S. deployed the Typhon system, which can be equipped with cruise missiles capable of striking Chinese targets, this year. China has demanded its removal, and Russia has joined in condemning the first deployment of the system to the Indo-Pacific, accusing Washington of fuelling an arms race.

Wang said the deployment "is not in the interests of regional countries".

The Philippines, southern neighbour to Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory, is an important part of U.S. strategy in Asia and would be an indispensable staging point for the military to aid Taipei in the event of a Chinese attack.

Wang said exchanges and cooperation between China and South Korea have become more active this year.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Engen Tham; Editing by William Mallard)