China slammed on Friday the decision by South Korea and the US to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system on the Korean Peninsula as it may jeopardize the chances of bringing a lasting peace to the region.

Experts said that China can impose economic sanctions against South Korea and consider joint counter moves with Russia in response to the deployment.

Military authorities in South Korea and the US made a joint official announcement earlier on Friday that they would deploy the missile defense system in South Korea. The allies claimed that the US interceptors will target North Korea's nuclear and missile threats alone, not any third country.

The decision met with strong opposition from China and Russia, as analysts said it will seriously undermine China-South Korea relations and damage joint efforts to seek a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

China's foreign ministry said in a statement Friday that China is "strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes" the THAAD deployment in South Korea, as it is not conducive to achieving denuclearization on the peninsula and maintaining its peace and stability.

The foreign ministry said it lodged solemn representations to the US and South Korean ambassadors on Friday.

China's Ministry of National Defense also announced Friday that China would pay close attention to the South Korean and US moves and will take necessary measures to safeguard national strategic security and regional balance.

Russia's foreign ministry warned Friday that the US deployment will have "irreparable consequences," and it will "undermine stability in the region," AFP reported.

The US Embassy told the Global Times on Friday that the deployment of THAAD is a "purely defensive measure" to protect the security of South Korea and its people from attack and to protect alliances' military forces from ballistic missile threats.

However, experts said that the THAAD system exceeds defense needs and would undermine China's and Russia's strategic security interests.

Lü Chao, a research fellow with the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday that "China has agreed with the US and South Korea to impose sanctions on North Korea within the UN process on denuclearization, but the US deployment may cause tensions with the US and South Korea and ease pressure on North Korea.

"The deployment will also break the strategic balance among China, Russia and the US since THAAD could help the US to contain China's military development and watch over Russia's military forces in the Far East," Lü said.

Jin Qiangyi, director of the Asia Studies Center at Yanbian University, told the Global Times on Friday that the US has an outpost to implement its pivot to Asia strategy by deploying the system, and it will heap pressure on China which is also dealing with the South China Sea issue.

Suspicious timing

The US chose its timing to announce the THAAD deployment just four days ahead of the arbitration ruling from The Hague on the South China Sea issue to provoke trouble for China, experts said.

Jin said that the US is also using it to cement the US-Japan-South Korea alliance and estrange China and South Korea.

"South Korea's pushy decision will damage its exchanges with China. China may take measures, including diplomatic protests, economic countermeasures or recall of ambassadors if it considers the negative influence on regional stability has grown," Zheng Jiyong, director of the Center for Korean Studies under the Shanghai-based Fudan University, told the Global Times.

Zheng said that China may adjust its military deployment near the Korean Peninsula,  and moves to block personnel exchanges may also strike a blow to the booming tourism sector between China and South Korea.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, following the THAAD announcement, shares in South Korean companies which depend heavily on Chinese consumers and travelers for revenue, fell sharply. LG Household & Health Care tumbled 4.5 percent, with leading cosmetics maker Amore Pacific plunging 4.7 percent and travel agency shares, including Hanatour Service and Modetour Network, also losing ground.

Jaeho Hwang, a professor at the Division of International Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, told the Global Times on Friday that the South Korean government has faced great pressure from different parties, including domestic ones, China, the US and Russia, and it finally made a decision despite the opposition.

Hwang said that some scholars and politicians in South Korea worry it will harm regional stability and affect South Korea's image among Chinese.

According to the Korea Times, the opposition People's Party said that the government is "too complacent" about China's opposition and another minor opposition Justice Party demanded to reverse the decision.

The Minju Party said the deployment would not be in the national interests of South Korea.

The US and South Korea hope to announce where the THAAD system will be deployed within a couple of weeks.  Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Ryu Je-seung said he expected the system will be operational by the end of 2017 at the latest, according to the Korea Times.