THE offer to remove a US missile system from the Philippines has been made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., provided Beijing, which has been bullying Manila even within the latter’s exclusive economic zone, stopped its “aggressive and coercive behavior” in the South China Sea.
The Typhon mid-range missile system in northern Philippines was installed last summer by the US Army to support what Washington and Manila, both defense treaty allies since Aug. 30, 1951, correctly described as training for joint combat readiness.
The recent clashes in the West Philippine Sea have raised concerns the US military could be drawn into a war with China.
The Philippine military said this week another of its platoons would be trained on using the Typhon system this month ahead of annual joint drills with its major ally the United States.
President Marcos’ words were clear, made this week to reporters in Cebu, “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.
“Let them stop everything they’re doing and I’ll return all of those…I don’t understand the comments on the Typhon missiles. We don’t make any comments on their missile systems, and their missile systems are a thousand times more powerful than what we have.”
There was no immediate comment from Beijing, but China has repeatedly demanded the Philippines remove the missile system, saying it was “inciting geopolitical confrontation and an arms race.”
The US Army’s mobile Typhon missile system, which consists of a launcher and at least 16 Standard Missile-6 and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, was repositioned about two weeks ago from the northern Philippines to a strategic area nearer the capital, Manila, in consultation with Philippine defense officials.
Tomahawk missiles can travel over 1,000 miles, which puts parts of mainland China within their range. Miltary officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the missile system will remain in the Philippines indefinitely.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said last week the Philippines is “creating tensions and antagonism in the region and inciting geopolitical confrontation and an arms race” by allowing the US missile system to be positioned in its territory.
But Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro correctly rejected China’s demand the missile system be removed as interference in Philippine internal affairs.
Manila and Washington have separately repeatedly condemned China’s increasingly assertive actions to press its territorial claims in the South China Sea, where hostilities have flared over the past two years with repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine coast guard forces and accompanying vessels.
Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims in the busy waterway, a key shipping route which is also believed to be sitting atop large undersea deposits of gas and oil.