Soviets say arms talks in Asia should include China

A senior Soviet official said China should be included in any negotiations to restrict the number of medium-range nuclear missiles in Asia, according to the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun.

Georgy Arbatov, a member of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee, apparently had in mind US plans to base F-16 fighter-bombers in northern Japan and to equip the US Seventh Fleet with cruise missiles, as well as China's development of nuclear missiles.