AFP mum on reported US plan to deploy missiles for Taiwan emergency

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines sidestepped questions on Tuesday, November 26, about the United States' plans to deploy missile units in the country in the event of a crisis in the Taiwan Strait. It disclosed however that it has contingencies ready to secure 200,000 Filipinos if China invades the self-ruled island.

A Kyodo News report on Monday, November 25, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations, said the US Army would deploy the Multi-Domain Task Force's long-range fire units in the Philippines as part of its joint operation plan with Japan to prepare for a Taiwan contingency. 

The AFP dodged questions about the matter in a press conference on Tuesday, choosing instead to highlight its own separate contingency plan to evacuate Filipino nationals working or residing in Taiwan in case Beijing invades.

"We've seen the article, sir, and if you read it closely, it states that there is still unverified sources in terms of the details that were given," AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said. 

"We respectfully defer that question to the proper sources of information for them to clarify," Padilla added.

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, confirmed the military has drawn up plans separate from the reported US-Japan preparations.

He did not respond to a question on whether US forces are allowed to deploy missile units at Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites. 

"That particular article mentioned the contingency planning of the US and Japan in the event of escalation in the Taiwan Strait... The AFP has its own contingency plans and our forces will be deployed appropriately," Trinidad said. 

"Our engagements with other countries are all part of the contingency plans of the AFP," he added.

Trinidad said protecting Filipinos in Taiwan is a constitutional mandate. "There are approximately 200,000 Filipinos there so we have to be ready to take care of the welfare of the Filipinos in as much as this is the third leg of our mandate in the constitution."

The Navy official added that the military's contingency planning involves coordination with regional partners and allies.  

China on Monday condemned reports of the US' missile deployment plan. Beijing's foreign ministry said through its spokesperson that China "firmly opposes countries using the Taiwan issue as a pretext to increase military deployments in the region, which only stirs up tensions, fosters confrontation, and undermines regional peace and stability."

Before this, China had voiced serious concerns over the Philippines' decision to hold onto a US mid-range missile system it received earlier this year that can reach mainland China when fired from northern Luzon.

Philippine and US officials had agreed to keep the Typhon missile system in the country to act as a deterrent against China, which considers Taiwan a rogue island that it will one day bring under its control. 

The Philippines in 2023 granted US forces access to four more military sites under EDCA. Three of these are in northern Luzon facing Taiwan, while one is in Palawan facing the South China Sea.