Philippine Military Wants US Missile System to Stay ‘Forever’ Despite China’s Protests

The Philippine military said on Sept. 24 that it wants to keep a U.S. mid-range missile system on its soil despite China’s demands.
“If I were given the choice, I would like to have the Typhon here in the Philippines forever because we need it for our defense,” Filipino Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. told reporters on the sideline of the Asian defense exhibition in Manila.
This represents the first time the U.S. Army has deployed a mid-range ground-based missile to the Indo-Pacific region. At the time, Army Brig. Gen. Bernard Harrington called the deployment “a significant step in our partnership with the Philippines, our oldest treaty ally in the region.”
The U.S. Army didn’t mention how long the Typhon system will be stationed in the Southeast Asian archipelago.
Brawner said he had told the U.S. side about Manila’s request to keep the ground-based missile system in the Philippines.
“We’re still waiting for their response,” the general said.
The Philippines would want to buy the Typhon system if it had enough money, Brawner added.
Washington has no claims to the strategic waters but has said the peaceful resolution of the disputes—along with freedom of navigation and overflight in the waterway where a bulk of world trade transits—is in the U.S. national interest.
Beijing has repeatedly protested against the presence of the Typhon system, demanding American and Filipino forces remove it immediately.
During a July meeting in Laos, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi warned his Philippine counterpart, Enrique Manalo, that the introduction of a U.S. intermediate-range missile system in the Philippines risks escalating regional tensions and triggering “an arms race,” according to China’s readout.
During the same event on Tuesday, Filipino Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told reporters that he would neither confirm nor deny the potential extended stay of the Typhon system.
Teodoro dismissed Beijing’s demand as interference in the country’s internal affairs.
“They are using reverse psychology in order to deter us from building up our defensive capabilities,” Teodoro said.
“Before they start talking, why don’t they lead by example? Destroy their nuclear arsenal, remove all their ballistic missile capabilities, get out of the West Philippines Sea, and get out of Mischief Reef.”