Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has offered to remove the US Typhon missile system from his country, as repeatedly demanded by China. However, he has proposed a deal that Beijing may not be willing to accept.
Speaking to reporters on January 30, the President said he is ready to remove the Typhon mid-range missile system from the country’s soil only if China ceases its “aggressive and coercive behavior” in the disputed South China Sea.
The Typhon system arrived in the Philippines in April 2024 to participate in joint readiness training, marking its first overseas deployment. However, China saw this move as provocative. It has repeatedly demanded the system’s removal from the country, citing concerns of an arms race and incitement of geopolitical tensions.
Last week, for instance, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “This is a highly dangerous move and an extremely irresponsible choice.”
When asked about the mounting Chinese criticism for the missile, the Philippines President said on January 30 that he did not comprehend China’s stance because the Philippines does not comment about China’s missile systems, which “are a thousand times more powerful than what we have.”
“Let’s make a deal with China: Stop claiming our territory, stop harassing our fishermen and let them have a living, stop ramming our boats, stop water cannoning our people, stop firing lasers at us, and stop your aggressive and coercive behavior, and we’ll return the typhoon missiles,” Marcos told reporters in central Cebu province. “Let them stop everything they’re doing, and I’ll return all of those,” he added.
Given that Marcos Jr. is aware that China will neither renounce its claims to the disputed South China Sea regions nor cease using aggressive means to assert its claims, the statement appears to be purely rhetorical.
China has yet to respond to the remarks made by Marcos Jr at the time of writing this report.
Notably, Marcos Jr.’s statement comes after a Filipino military official announced earlier this week that Philippine soldiers will practice using the US military’s intermediate-range missile system during unilateral army drills next month to prepare for larger exercises with their US counterparts.
The system has also reportedly been redeployed to an undisclosed location within the country.
The United States Army deployed its ground-based missile system, Typhon, to the Philippines in April 2024 to participate in Exercise Balikatan 24 and Exercise Salaknib 24 amid heightened tensions between the Philippines and China. However, the systems were not returned to the United States after the drills as anticipated.
On the contrary, the Philippines announced in September 2024 that the Typhoon would remain indefinitely in the Philippines.
Much to China’s disdain, General Romeo Brawner Jr., the Philippines military chief, announced on August 29 that the country was considering acquiring the Typhon system. Brawner said the military had begun training for MRC operations in anticipation of the potential decision.
Typhon Has Rattled China
The Typhon system, also known as the Mid-Range Capability (MRC), is a vital component of the US Army’s approved force structure for its Multi-Domain Task Forces (MTDF).
The system’s launcher is derived from the Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS), a design used on numerous US and allied warships.
Each Typhon launcher can carry four missiles simultaneously, and an entire battery comprises four launchers. This means the missile system can fire a salvo of 16 missiles before it requires reloading.
One of the Typhon system’s most notable characteristics is its ability to launch Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles. While the SM-6 missiles effectively engage air and maritime threats at distances exceeding 200 kilometers (approximately 165 miles), the Tomahawk cruise missiles, with a range of 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles), can strike targets in China and Russia from launch sites in the Philippines.
This explains why China has been rattled by the system’s deployment so close to the mainland. From Luzon, where it is deployed, the Typhon can target key military installations on the southeastern coast of mainland China and Hainan Island, located in the northern South China Sea. The missile can also strike several Chinese targets and artificial outposts around the South China Sea.
The deployment of the system to the Philippines ended a nearly 40-year hiatus that followed the 1987 signing of the US-Soviet Union Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
The pact prohibited creating and using land-based missiles that could travel between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. However, the United States withdrew from the treaty in 2019 due to China’s growing military might, particularly in the area of missile technology, and allegations of violations by Moscow.
Chinese experts have accused the US of exploiting its withdrawal from the treaty to destabilize the region and contain China.
An opinion piece published in Chinese state media in December stated: “The US claims it is doing so to safeguard the security of its allies. However, in reality, what the US is doing is preserving its hegemony by pursuing global deployment of missile systems with mid-range capabilities, disregarding international rules and legal bounds. This will undoubtedly intensify confrontation and cause more volatility in the global security landscape,”
However, the Filipino President’s remarks indicate that the systems are here to stay.
Manila’s continued deployment of Typhon in the Philippines represents the Southeast Asian country’s defiance in the face of mounting Chinese pressure in the region. The United States’ deployment is part of a broader strategy to boost its military presence, including anti-ship capabilities, in the Indo-Pacific amid rising maritime tensions with Beijing.
- Contact the author at sakshi.tiwari9555(at)gmail.com
- Follow EurAsian Times on Google News
