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The Philippines announced Monday that it plans to acquire the US Typhon missile system as part of a campaign to protect its maritime interests, sparking warnings from China of a regional “arms race”.
The US military deployed the medium-range missile system to the northern Philippines earlier this year for annual joint military exercises with its longtime ally and decided to leave it there despite criticism from Beijing that it would destabilize Asia.
Philippine Army chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido said in a news conference Monday that the missile system would be “acquired because we see its feasibility and functionality in our implementation concept of archipelagic defense.
“I am happy to announce to our compatriots that your military is developing this capability in the interest of protecting our sovereignty,” he said, adding that the total cost of the acquisition would depend “on the economics.”
The presence of the U.S. missile launcher has angered Beijing, whose navy and coast guard have been engaged in escalating clashes with the Philippines in recent months over reefs and disputed waters in the South China Sea.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, a key global shipping route, despite an international ruling that its claim has no legal basis.
Manila and Washington, long-time treaty allies, have deepened their defense cooperation since Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos took office in 2022 and began pushing back against Beijing’s claims to the South China Sea.
The United States will not claim the South China Sea, but it has warned that it forced to defend the Philippines if its forces are attacked there, and has declared that freedom of navigation is among its main national interests.
And on Monday, China quickly condemned the decision to acquire the system, calling it a “provocative and dangerous step,” and warned it risked sparking an “arms race.”
“This is an extremely irresponsible choice for the history of its own people and the people of Southeast Asia, as well as for regional security,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao said on Monday. Ning.
“The region needs peace and prosperity, not missiles and confrontation,” she added, urging Manila to “correct its bad practices as soon as possible.”
Typically, it takes at least two years for the Philippine military to acquire a new weapons system from the planning stage, Galido said Monday, adding that the system is not yet budgeted for 2025.
It took Manila five years to receive the BrahMos cruise missile last year, he added.
The “medium-range capability” Typhoon land-based missile launcher, developed by Lockheed Martin for the US military, has a range of 300 miles, although a longer-range version is under development.
Galido said the Typhoon system would allow the military to “project force” outward up to 200 nautical miles, which is the limit of the archipelago nation’s maritime rights under the Convention of United Nations on the Law of the Sea.
“You have to take into account the fact that 200 nautical miles away there is no land there and the army cannot go there,” he said.
The Typhoon platform “will protect our floating assets,” he said, referring to Philippine Navy and Coast Guard ships and other vessels.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun warned in June that Typhoon’s deployment “severely harms regional security and stability.”
But Galido dismissed criticism of the Typhoon system in the Philippines.
“We should not be bothered by the apparent insecurity of others because we do not intend to go against the interests of our country,” he said.
