China seethes as US missile system stays in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Beijing has voiced serious concerns over the Philippines' decision to hold onto a US mid-range missile system it received earlier this year that can target mainland China. 

The deployment of the powerful missile system in northern Philippines "gravely threatens regional countries' security" and triggers "geopolitical confrontation," Lin Jian, the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Thursday, September 19. 

Not directly mentioning the United States, the Chinese official called on the "relevant country" to "correct the wrongdoing as soon as possible" and "quickly pull out the missile system as publicly pledged."

Beijing's statement comes after Reuters reported on Thursday, Sepember 19 that the US has no immediate plan to pull out the Typhon missile system it deployed to the Philippines for joint exercises in April. The system can be equipped with cruise missiles capable of reaching targets from northern Philippines all the way to the Chinese mainland.

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Philippine officials told Reuters that Filipino and American troops are still training with the missile system. They were not aware of immediate plans to return it, even though the Salaknib joint exercises have concluded this month.

The Typhon was discreetly delivered to northern Luzon from an undisclosed location for use in the Balikatan military exercises in April (a separate exercise from Salaknib).  

The move drew the ire of China, who called on the Philippines to "think twice about being a cat’s paw for the US at the expense of its own security interests."

Giving China 'sleepless nights'

The plan to ship the missile system out of the country by September now appears to have been shelved. 

According to Reuters, which spoke to Philippine Army Spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala on Wednesday, September 18, the missile system was still being used for training, and the decision on when to remove it has been left up to the US Army Pacific.

An unnamed public affairs officer for the US Army Pacific, however, pointed back to the Philippine Army, according to the report. The officer said the Philippine Army had allowed the Typhon to stay beyond September and soldiers trained with it as recently as last week, engaging “in discussions over employing the system, with a focus on integrating host nation support.”

A senior Philippine government official who spoke to Reuters on background said the Typhon was in the Philippines for a “test on the feasibility of deploying it in country so that when the need arises, it could easily be deployed here.”

There are no immediate plans to remove the missile system, according to the government official.

“If ever it will be pulled out, it is because the objective has been achieved and it may be brought (back) in after all the repairs or the construction would have been done,” the official said. “We want to give them sleepless nights.”

A continuing rebuke

Beijing has repeatedly accused the US of using the Philippines as a pawn to threaten regional stability amid their maritime dispute.

This accusation emerged after the Philippine government under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. deepened defense ties with the US its other allies like Japan to counter China's growing influence in the region.

Under Marcos, the government started to actively rebuke and expose China's aggressive actions in the South China Sea, parts of which are referred to as the West Philippine Sea. This was a marked departure from the pro-Beijing policies of Marcos' predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte. 

In 2023, the Philippines allowed the US to access four more Philippine military bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, bringing the total to nine. The four new sites are in the northern and western Philippines, with two sites in Cagayan, another in Isabela and another in Palawan.  

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, even waters and islands close to its neighbors' shores. It has repeatedly rejected an international tribunal ruling in 2016 that invalidated its so-called nine dash line.