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Thursday, January 30, 2025
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Thursday, January 30, 2025

Army platoon to be trained on Typhon missile system

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A military platoon will be trained on using a US mid-range Typhon missile system next month, ahead of joint drills, the Philippine Army said Tuesday.

A new platoon from the Army’s Artillery Regiment will receive “orientation and familiarization” training on the system, starting in the second or third week of February, Army spokesman Col. Louie Dema-ala said in a press conference.

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The week-long training will involve troops from the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force of the US Army Pacific during the Combined Arms Training Exercise (CATEX), Dema-ala added.

“This is a continuation of what we’ve learned in the first (training) iteration.

New units will be involved in the training and a continuation of the previous platoon that was trained last year,” he said.

“As long as MRC (mid-range missile capability) is here, we maximize its utilization to train our personnel in new technology,” Dema-ala added.

Dema-ala said the training is in preparation for this year’s Salaknib, an annual joint exercise between the Philippines and US armies.

The US military deployed the Typhon missile system in the northern Philippines last year as part of an annual joint exercise, but it was not removed after the war games ended.

The system’s presence on Philippine soil has angered Beijing, whose forces have engaged in several confrontations with Philippine vessels in recent months in the West Philippine Sea.

Last month, the Philippine Army said it was planning to acquire the Typhon system as part of a push to secure its maritime interests, sparking warnings from China of a regional “arms race.”

The training location cannot be disclosed, Dema-ala said, noting that there will be no firing of the Typhon system.

Armed Forces spokesperson Col. Francel Padilla said moving the launcher from its initial location to a different part of the country was a test “to see how these logistical trains can be transported to certain locations, to certain salient points.”

Military officials have said the Typhon system would be able to protect vessels up to 370 kilometers (200 nautical miles) off the coast, the limit of the Philippines’ maritime entitlement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Last week, China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning renewed calls for the Philippines to “stop going further down the wrong path.”

“Let me stress again that by bringing this strategic offensive weapon into this part of the world, the Philippines is essentially creating tensions and antagonism in the region and inciting geopolitical confrontation and an arms race,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard said it will provide regular information and daily updates on Chinese incursions in the WPS.

“[This is] for the Filipino people to understand and also for the Chinese government to realize we are standing up and we’re not allowing them to normalize their illegal presence in Zambales,” PCG spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela said.

He said the PCG would remain peaceful and professional despite repeated “bullying and aggressive actions on the part of the China Coast Guard.”

“We’re going to stick to our mandate – that is to challenge the illegal presence of the CCG,” he said.

On Monday, the PCG vessel BRP Cabra responded to a distress call from fishing boat El Kapitan.

Despite being aware of the distress call from the Filipino fishing boat, CCG vessel 3304 shadowed BRP Cabra, hindering the transport of a fisherman who died while offshore, Tarriela said.

As this developed, the Philippine Navy said the drone recovered off Calayan Island last year contained bathymetric data which can be used in “undersea warfare.”

Navy spokesperson for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said that based on forensics information gathered, a “deliberate effort is being conducted by a foreign power.”

“All of these have applications in the academic field, in the commercial field, and even in the military field,” Trinidad said.

Trinidad said he sees a subtle effort to map out not only the country’s maritime domain but also the human terrain, political system, and political infrastructure.

Five submersible drones have been discovered so far in various areas – two in Calayan Island in the Babuyan Group of Islands; one in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte; one in Initao, Misamis Oriental; and one in San Pascual, Masbate in December 2024. With AFP

Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Philippines to train with US Typhon missile system next month.”

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