MANILA, Sept 19 (Askume) – The United States has no immediate plans to withdraw its medium-range missile system deployed in the Philippines despite demands from China and is testing the feasibility of using the system in regional conflicts, according to people familiar with the matter. Askume.
The two countries said at the time that they had introduced the Typhon system, which can be equipped with cruise missiles capable of hitting Chinese targets, for joint exercises earlier this year but it remains there.
The Southeast Asian archipelago is Taiwan’s southern neighbor and a key part of the US Asia strategy . Once China attacks, it will become an indispensable relay station for US forces to aid Taipei.
China and Russia condemned the move – the first deployment of the system in the Indo-Pacific – and accused Washington of fueling an arms race.
The deployment, some details of which have not been previously reported, comes amid a conflict between China and the US defense treaty ally the Philippines over parts of the highly disputed South China Sea . The strategic waterway has seen a series of naval and aerial confrontations in recent months.
Philippine officials said the Philippine and U.S. forces continue to use the missile system, which is based in northern Luzon island facing the South China Sea and near the Taiwan Strait, for training and that they were unaware of immediate plans to return the system despite joint exercises scheduled to end this month.
Philippine army spokesman Colonel Luis Demara told Askume on Wednesday that training was ongoing and it was up to the United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) to determine how long the missile system would remain in place.
The Philippine military has said Typhoon could wait until after September, and soldiers began training with the system last week “with discussions ongoing on using the system with a focus on integrating host support,” a USARPAC public affairs official said.
A senior Philippine government official and another person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the United States and the Philippines were examining the feasibility of using the system in a conflict situation to test how well it would work in that environment.
Typhon, a modular system designed to be mobile and move as needed, is currently “undergoing feasibility testing to deploy the system in the country so that it can be easily deployed when the need arises,” government officials said.
The office of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not respond to a request for comment.
“sleepless nights”
In April, the US military launched Typhon missiles, which can fire missiles including SM-6 missiles and Tomahawks with a range of more than 1,600 kilometres (994 miles), at the Philippines in what was described as a “historic first” and “a major step in our strategic partnership with the Philippines”.
A report published at the time by the Congressional Research Service, a US Congressional policy agency, said that “it is unclear whether this temporary deployment will eventually become permanent.”
In July, military spokesman Demara confirmed that the Typhon missile launcher was still on the northern Philippine islands and said there was no specific date for its “transport”, correcting earlier reports that it would be sent in September.
Satellite images taken by commercial satellite company Planet Labs and reviewed by Askume on Wednesday showed the storm over Laoag International Airport in Ilocos Norte province.
Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, who analyzed the images, said the system remains in place.
Senior government officials who spoke to Askume said there were no immediate plans to withdraw the programme.
“If it is removed, it will be because the purpose has been achieved and it can be taken back after all repairs or construction is complete,” the official said. He said it has strategic importance to deter China.
“We want to make their nights sleepless.”
Anti-Ship Weapons
The United States is accumulating various anti-ship weapons in Asia, and Washington is trying to catch up in the Indo-Pacific missile race in which China is far ahead, Askume reported .
Although the US military has declined to say how many SM-6 missiles will be deployed in the Indo-Pacific region, according to government documents outlining military purchases, more than 800 SM-6 missiles will be purchased over the next five years. The documents show there are thousands of Tomahawks in US stockpiles.
China has repeatedly condemned the Typhoon deployment, including in May when Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said Manila and Washington had created a “great threat of war” for the region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned the deployment in June when he announced that Russia would resume production of intermediate- and short-range nuclear bombs.
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 islands it built in the South China Sea, most of which it controls despite a 2016 arbitration ruling in favor of the Philippines, and armed them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles. .Keep sovereignty.
China says its military installations in the Spratly Islands are purely defensive and that it can do whatever it wants in its territory.
