The United States is considering the potential deployment of additional missile launchers to the Philippines following the initial quiet deployment of missile launchers last year amid rising tension with China. The deployment of missiles near China has resulted in China issuing major warnings.
According to The Associated Press, the U.S. military deployed the Typhon, a land-based missile system capable of firing the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile and the Standard Missile-6, to the Philippines for joint military exercises last April. The outlet noted that an anti-ship missile launcher was also deployed to the Philippines by the U.S. military earlier this year.
The Associated Press reported that the ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United States confirmed on Thursday that the United States is considering the deployment of additional missile launchers to the Philippines amid increased tension in the South China Sea. However, the ambassador acknowledged that a final decision regarding the deployment of additional missiles has not been made.
Addressing military deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region during a press conference in Manila in March, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said, “The United States has been fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with the Philippines since World War II. Our partnership not only continues today, but we are doubling down on that partnership, and our ironclad alliance has never been stronger.”
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In response to the U.S. military’s deployment of missile launchers in the Philippines, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense has warned the Philippines that the missile systems could lead to “self-inflicted destruction” and cause instability in the Indo-Pacific region. According to Defense News, a Chinese national security document, titled “China’s National Security in the New Era,” warned of “intensifying geopolitics” and a “Cold War mentality” due to the increase of “intermediate-range missile systems” in the region.
The Chinese document warned that the deployment of foreign missiles in the Philippines could result in “aggravated regional tensions,” as the two countries are already involved in a maritime dispute over territory in the South China Sea.
The Chinese document stated, “Unresolved territorial and maritime rights disputes have become more difficult and complicated … with the intervention of foreign forces.”
Additionally, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense previously warned, “Wherever US weapons are deployed, the risk of war and conflicts will rise, and the local people will suffer undeserved suffering from war.”
