American and Filipino security officials have agreed to keep a U.S. mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines indefinitely to boost deterrence. The U.S. Army transported the Typhon missile system to the northern Philippines in April for combat exercises with Philippine troops. The system can fire the Standard Missile-6 and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, with Tomahawk missiles having a range that includes China as a potential target.
The planned removal of the missile system by the end of this month may not happen, as officials are considering keeping it in the northern Philippines until April next year. Despite China’s objections and warnings that the deployment could destabilize the region, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. rejected interference in internal affairs.
Philippine military chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. has expressed a desire to keep the missile system in the Philippines permanently for defense purposes. The presence of the missile system in the Philippines has drawn concern from China, which opposes increased U.S. military deployments in the region. The U.S. and the Philippines have condemned China’s assertive actions and fortifications in the South China Sea, a region with overlapping territorial claims from multiple countries.
