China, Russia to hold first joint anti-missile drill

China and Russia will hold their first joint computer-assisted anti-missile drill this month, a move analysts believe will help counteract the increasing deployment of US weapons on their doorsteps.

The Ministry of National Defense and the Russian Defense Ministry announced late on Tuesday that the drill will be held later this month at a Russian defense force research center.

Although both ministries said the drill "does not target any third party", observers said the two countries are faced with imminent challenges posed by the US plan to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile-interceptor system in the Republic of Korea.