On August 14, US Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea told Japan‘s Nikkei that the US is in talks with its Asian allies to deploy midrange missiles to counter „the immediate threat“ of China‘s nuclear arsenal. This week, Esper will head to Hawaii, Palau and Guam. In Guam, he is set to meet his Japanese counterpart. He will likely put pressure on Japan and talk about the deployment of midrange missiles.