Philippine military chief requests longer deployment for US missile system

The Philippines has asked the U.S. military to keep a mid-range missile system deployed on its soil because the country needs the weapon for its defense amid tensions with China, the Filipino armed forces chief said Wednesday.

The mobile Typhon system was brought to the Philippines earlier this year as part of joint military exercises with the United States, and is currently deployed on Luzon, the main Philippine island which faces Taiwan.

It was the first time the U.S. had deployed the system, also known as the Mid-Range Capability missile system, in the Asia-Pacific region – a move that angered rival superpower China. 

“If I were given the choice, I would like to have the Typhon here in the Philippines forever. We need that for our defense,” Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., chief of the Philippine armed forces, told reporters on the sidelines of the Asian Defense and Security Exhibition in Manila. 

Brawner did not divulge the Philippine military’s plans, but said he had “informally” conveyed his request to extend the deployment to U.S. officials, including Adm. Samuel Paparo, the American military commander for the Indo-Pacific.

The Typhon is a land-based, ground-launched system that can fire the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) and Tomahawk missiles and support strike capabilities from land to sea to air, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service.

The system was designed for extended-range anti-air warfare against ballistic missiles. It has an operational range of more than 240 km (150 miles) and an active radar-homing guidance system that allows the projectile to find and track its target autonomously.

The system was deployed on April 11 as part of Salaknib, a joint army drill for thousands of Philippine and American troops on Luzon. The weapon was supposed to stay only for a short period before being redeployed, although it will likely remain in the Philippines until the end of September, when the second phase of Salaknib concludes.

RELATED STORIES

Analysts: US missile deployment expected to assist Philippines in its territorial defense

US missile launcher deployed to Philippines ‘defensive in nature’

China tells Philippines: US missile system a ‘destabilizing’ factor in regional security

Philippines to exhaust options before seeking US military help for sea missions

EXPLAINED: Sabina Shoal, the newest flashpoint in the South China Sea

China had expressed its displeasure with the deployment of the Typhon to the Philippines. Beijing accused Manila and its ally Washington of aggravating tensions that have flared up lately over contending territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Enrique Manalo, the top Philippine diplomat, told reporters in Manila last month that his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, had conveyed that China saw the Typhon system in the Philippines as “destabilizing” to regional peace.

The weapon system “gravely threatens regional countries’ security, incites geopolitical confrontation, and has aroused high vigilance and concerns of countries in the region,” China said in a subsequent statement.

‘Don’t throw stones’ in a glass house

In Manila, Brawner said it was in the Philippines’ interest to keep the missile system in the country.

“We are building our defenses,” Brawner said. “Did we get mad when [Beijing] positioned missile systems in their [South China Sea-claimed] islands? We did not.”

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. chimed in to say that Beijing had no business telling Manila what to do. 

“Why should they be alarmed when they have a whole arsenal? You know China is saying that they are alarmed but that is interference into our internal affairs,” Teodoro said.

“Before they start talking, why don’t they lead by example? Destroy their nuclear arsenal, remove all their ballistic missile capabilities,” the defense chief said. “Don’t throw stones when you live in a glass house.”

Brawner also said that the Philippines was also looking at getting its own Typhon system and improving its comprehensive air and maritime defense system.

The comments by the top Philippines defense officials came after China test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile over the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday.

“This test launch … is in line with international law and international practice and is not directed against any country or target,” Beijing’s defense ministry said.

The missile test came as world leaders gathered at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Earlier, Philippine officials had said they planned to file a resolution before the world body to address Manila’s row with Beijing over the South China Sea.