DFA: China’s arms race fear over US ‘Typhon’ in PH baseless

Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum at Shangri-La The Fort, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig on Tuesday (May 21, 2024) (PNA photo by Joan Bondoc)

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – There is no basis for Beijing to warn Manila that the United States’ deployment of the “Typhon” mid-range missile system to the Philippines would lead to an arms race, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said Tuesday.

In a joint press conference following the 2+2 Foreign and Defense Ministerial meeting with Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III, Manalo clarified that the system was not meant for any “offensive purpose”.

“All I can really say is that first, these missiles are meant for our own defensive capabilities, our own ability to improve our defensive deterrence, and they’re not meant for any offensive purposes,” the Filipino top diplomat said.

“So, I really can’t see on what basis how it would lead to an arms race,” he added.

The statement comes as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi conveyed Beijing’s concern over the deployment of the American missile system during a bilateral meeting with Manalo in Laos on Friday.

China’s state news agency Xinhua quoted Wang as saying that Manila’s possible introduction of the system would create regional tension, confrontation, and “trigger an arms race”.

The US deployed the mid-range capability (MRC) missile system to Northern Luzon on April 11 as part of the Exercise Salaknib 24.

Typhon is a land-based, ground-launched system that enhances multi-domain fires. Its launcher can fire the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM).

Earlier, the Philippine Army said there is a possibility that the MRC may extend its deployment in the country beyond September when the Salaknib training ends.