Askume Manila, Sept 19 – The United States has no immediate plans to withdraw its medium-range missile system deployed in the Philippines and plans to use the system in regional conflicts despite China’s request, people familiar with the matter said.
The Typhon system, equipped with cruise missiles capable of striking Chinese targets, took part in joint exercises earlier this year but the system remained in place, the two countries said at the time.
The Southeast Asian archipelago is Taiwan’s southern neighbour and a key part of US Asia strategy , making Taipei an essential stop for military support if China attacks.
China and Russia condemned the system’s first deployment in the Indo-Pacific region and accused Washington of fuelling an arms race.
China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it was deeply concerned about plans to retain the system.
“It poses a serious threat to the security of regional countries and intensifies geopolitical conflict,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a press conference.
No information was released ahead of the deployment, which comes amid a conflict between China and US defense treaty ally the Philippines over parts of the South China Sea . The strategic waterway has been the site of a series of naval and aerial confrontations in recent months.
Philippine officials said Philippine and U.S. troops were continuing to train on the missile system on the northern island of Luzon, which faces the South China Sea and is close to the Taiwan Strait. They said they were not aware of any immediate plans to return it, though joint exercises are set to end this month.
Philippine military spokesman Colonel Luis Dema-Ala told Askume on Wednesday that training was ongoing and it was up to the United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) to decide how long the missile system would remain there.
The Philippine military said the Typhoon fighter jets could remain deployed beyond September, and troops conducted training last week that “focused on integrating host nation support and discussing the use of the system,” a U.S. Army Pacific Command public relations official said.
The United States and the Philippines are testing the feasibility of using the system in conflict situations and its effectiveness in that environment, said a senior Philippine government official and another person familiar with the matter. Both spoke on condition of anonymity.
Government officials said the Typhon, which is designed to be mobile and can be moved from one place to another as needed, has come to the Philippines “to test the feasibility of its deployment in the country so that it can be easily deployed whenever the need arises.” Read the easy deployment here.
The office of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not respond to a request for comment.
“sleepless nights”
The US military sent Typhon missiles, which can launch missiles including SM-6 missiles and Tomahawk missiles with a range of more than 1,600 kilometers (994 miles), to the Philippines in April. The US military called it a “historic first” and “an important step in our partnership with the Philippines.”
Satellite images taken by commercial satellite company Planet Labs on Wednesday and reviewed by Askume showed the storm over Laoag International Airport in Ilocos Norte province.
There were no immediate plans to withdraw the programme, a senior government official told Askume in an interview.
The official added: “Even if it is destroyed, it is because its purpose has been achieved and it can be withdrawn once all maintenance or construction work is completed.” He also said that retaining the system is of strategic importance for the Philippines to deter China.
“We don’t want them to have sleepless nights.”
Anti-Ship Weapons
The United States is stockpiling a variety of anti-ship weapons in Asia, as Washington seeks to catch up in the missile race in the Indo-Pacific, where China is in the lead, Askume reports .
Although the US military declined to say how many missiles it would deploy in the Indo-Pacific region, more than 800 SM-6 missiles will be purchased over the next five years, according to government documents outlining military purchases. The documents show there are already thousands of Tomahawks in US stockpiles.
China has repeatedly condemned the Typhoon deployment, including in May when Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said it posed a “significant combat threat” to Manila and Washington.
Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned the deployment in June when he announced that Russia would resume production of short- and medium-range nuclear missiles.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo assured his Chinese counterpart in July that the presence of the missile systems in the Philippines would not pose any threat to China or destabilize the region.
The United States says China has fully militarized at least three of the several islands it claims in the South China Sea and backed the Philippines in a 2016 arbitration ruling, arming the islands with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles.
China says its military installations in the Spratly Islands are purely defensive and that it can do whatever it wants in its territory.
