United States defense treaty ally the Philippines will host another American missile system capable of targeting Chinese military facilities in the contested South China Sea, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday.
The news follows last year's high-profile delivery of a midrange missile system that drew sharp criticism from China over its potential to reach the Chinese coast. The second unit is of a shorter range but could still escalate tensions and the risk of miscalculation.
Why It Matters
The Philippines and China are locked in a long-running territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Beijing claims sovereignty over upward of 90 percent of the strategic waterway and has accused Manila of acting as a pawn in U.S. efforts to contain China.
Speaking alongside Philippine defense officials in Manila on Friday, Hegseth criticized China's aggressive behavior in the region and said a U.S. Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, or NMESIS, launcher would be deployed to the Philippines next month as part of the alliance's largest annual exercise, Balikatan.
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Army, Philippine Armed Forces, and Chinese Foreign Ministry via email for comment.
What To Know
"We have already set a robust agenda for the next few years. Our staff, both of us, are going to remain actively engaged. It reflects the strength of our ironclad alliance, particularly in the face of communist China's aggression in the region," Hegseth said at the joint press conference with Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.
The news comes after Colonel Michael Rose, commander of the U.S. Army's Hawaii-based 3rd Multidomain Task Force (MDTF), told reporters earlier this month that the unit would establish a second Typhon system in the Pacific region.
Developed as part of the U.S. Army's Long Range Precision Fires program, the mobility and versatility of the MRC, or "Typhon," makes it a valuable addition to the Southeast Asian country's arsenal.
In April, a Typhon rocket launcher made the 8,000-mile journey to the Philippines, where it participated in the Balikatan and Salaknib joint exercises.
The Philippines has insisted on the platform for training and dismissed Beijing's demands that it be removed.
Philippine Armed Forces spokesperson Francel Margareth Padilla sounded optimistic the country would take delivery of the launcher, telling reporters: "This is a welcome development for the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
"We can say that the more, the merrier," she added. "So the more assets we have, the more that we are able to train more personnel on our part."
Teodoro would "neither confirm nor deny" reports Manila had been selected to host the Typhon.
The system can be armed with Standard Missile-6s and Tomahawk cruise missiles, whose 1,000-mile range puts in reach much of China's eastern seaboard and the country's artificial islands in the Spratly archipelago.
During a February press briefing, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang accused Manila of using the Typhon as a "bargaining chip" in the South China Sea and of "putting the well-being of its people and regional peace and stability at grave risks. Such behavior is ridiculous and very dangerous."
What People Are Saying
Collin Koh, a senior fellow at Singapore's Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, told Newsweek: "If additional [Typhon] units are deployed [to the Philippines], it'll be a tight slap on Beijing's face. While knowing it couldn't do much to reverse the situation just by verbal warning—and likely back channel diplomacy—Beijing will have to save face over the perceived affront by ramping up other means of pressuring the Philippines.
"This could mean we will be seeing not only more persistent Chinese coercive behavior against the Philippines but likely an escalation of such actions—which could potentially lead to miscalculations."
What Happens Next
Other announcements from Hegseth's visit to strengthen the U.S.-Philippine security alliance include plans to boost Manila's defense industry and launch a shared cybersecurity initiative.
This is in addition to nearly half a billion dollars in pending U.S. defense funding and the ongoing expansion of joint bases under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
The two countries also agreed to conduct joint special operations training in Batanes, the Philippines' northernmost province and the one closest to China-claimed Taiwan.
