The United States is deploying units of its NMESIS (Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System) to the island province of Batanes as part of the annual joint military exercises between Filipino and American forces, commonly referred to as ‘Balikatan,’ which begins today.
According to the Hawaii-based 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, an undisclosed number of NMESIS launchers will be transported by air to various locations across Batanes, lying approximately 150 kilometers from the southernmost tip of Taiwan.
The NMESIS is a highly mobile coastal anti-ship missile system designed to strike surface vessels from land-based positions at a distance of about 185 km.
To be held upto to May 9, Balikatan will involve 5,000 Filipino troops and 9,000 American personnel.
“This marks the inaugural deployment of the newly fielded Marine Corps weapon system to the Philippines and serves as a major milestone for the continuously developing US-Philippines alliance,” the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment said.
Meanwhile, defense publication Naval News said the missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines.
The publication quoted Ben Lewis, co-founder of PLATracker and an expert on the Chinese military as saying, “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access point to enter or exit the Pacific Ocean from the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, and the deployment of NMESIS allows the US to assert control over that access.”
The deployment of the NMESIS was initially announced by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on March 28 during his visit to Manila. He reaffirmed Washington’s unwavering commitment to its oldest treaty and military ally in the region.
On April 15, Philippine Army Brig. Gen. Michael Logico, serving as the spokesperson for “Balikatan,” confirmed the arrival of the NMESIS in the Philippines.
Last week, the US Marines said several NMESIS launchers would be airlifted by US Army and Marine aviation units to conduct maritime key terrain security operations across multiple islands in the Batanes.
It was further disclosed that the regiment’s fire control center would coordinate its batteries in simulated missile strikes without live fire.
“Working with the government and Armed Forces of the Philippines to bring the NMESIS into the Philippines has been a significant step in the right direction for the reaffirmation and strengthening of US-Philippine relations,” regiment commander Colonel John Lehane said.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “US to showcase coastal missile system in Batanes drills”