Washington has denied that it is pressing its allies in Asia to deploy U.S. missiles. 

According to Bloomberg, U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said during his trip to Asia on Tuesday that he “never asked anybody about the deployment of missiles in Asia.” 

On Saturday, while he was en route to Australia, Esper said he was  he was in favor of placing ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles in the region. Those comments drew the ire of Beijing, which warned neighboring countries on Monday not to allow U.S. missile deployment, specifically naming Japan, Australia and South Korea. 

Esper said the U.S. is still “a few years away” from actual missile deployment in the region, adding it needs to have “much dialogue” with its allies as to where to deploy such missile systems.