The decision last week by the Trump Administration to lift an Obama-era ban on anti-personnel landmines outside the Korean Peninsula is unlikely to trigger an arms race between other nations over their use, officials said.
At a briefing Monday, chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said potential rivals in a near-peer conflict - such as China and Russia - already make use of anti-personnel landmines.
“It (the previous ban) has had no impact on the policies of our adversaries,” he said.
What distinguishes a U.S. landmine with that from other countries are the safety features, such as disarming or self-destruct elements, that would render them harmless after a time, he said.
“We have taken the time to find a responsible way to employ them and provide force protection” for U.S. troops, Mr. Hoffman said.
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