AMERICAN MISSILE SYSTEM IN PHILIPPINES RAISES CONCERNS

Stationing of equipment amid tensions in South China Sea ‘poses threat to region’, diplomat says

Beijing has raised “serious concerns” during a meeting with Southeast Asian nations about the United States’ deployment of a mid-range missile system in the Philippines.

The US temporarily stationed the Typhon Weapon System, capable of supporting Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6 anti-aircraft missiles, in the Southeast Asian country during joint military drills last month.

It was the first time Washington had stationed such a weapons system in the country, which has clashed with China in the South China Sea in recent months, raising fears about the risk of an armed conflict.

Speaking to reporters in Jakarta, vice-minister of foreign affairs Sun Weidong said he “clearly conveyed China’s serious concerns” during a meeting between senior officials from Beijing and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Sun said the deployment posed a “serious threat to the security of the countries in the region and would seriously undermine regional peace and stability,” according to a statement by the foreign ministry in Beijing.

“China firmly opposes the recurrence of cold war-style confrontation in the region and the use of regional countries as tools and agents of hegemony,” Sun said, while reaffirming Beijing’s support for Asean’s strategic autonomy.

Sun’s remarks came when Beijing is facing a rising challenge from the US and its allies, including the Philippines, in the region.

Four of the 10 member states of Asean – Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and the Philippines – have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

On Friday, the Philippines wrapped up a three-week annual training exercise with the US that involved 16,000 troops from the two countries as well as personnel from France and Australia.

The US Indo-Pacific Command said the troops had “trained shoulder to shoulder at locations throughout the Philippines to increase proficiency in maritime security, amphibious operations, combined arms, aviation operations, and information and cyberspace operations”.

Beijing was deeply frustrated when the Philippines agreed to open four more military bases to its long-term ally in April last year.

That includes one close to China’s artificial islands on the Mischief and Fiery Cross reefs in the Spratly archipelago of South China Sea and two sites that are about 500km from Taiwan.

The deployment of the Typhon weapons system during the exercise is the first time such weapons have been stationed in the IndoPacific since the US pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019.

The agreement, ratified by the US and Soviet Union in June 1988, banned both countries from developing and fielding groundlaunched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500km.

For Beijing, the Philippines forms part of the first island chain, which divides mainland Asia from

This many, out of the 10 member states of the Asean bloc, have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea

the Pacific and could be used by the US as the first line of defence to contain China militarily.

Designed by Lockheed Martin, the Typhon Weapon System is a core component of the US Army’s Multi-Domain Task Forces, which were created in 2017 to counter threats from Russia and China.

Composed of four launchers, the Typhon is capable of launching SM-6 missiles that can hit targets at a distance of up to 370km and cruise missiles that can carry conventional or nuclear warheads and have a range of up to 2,500km, according to Washington-based think tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

The foreign ministry said Sun had an “in-depth exchange of views on international and regional issues of common concern” with his Southeast Asian counterparts and the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation on mine clearance, combating telecommunications fraud and illegal internet gambling “to create a more stable and secure regional environment”.

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