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The Philippines said on Monday it planned to acquire the US Typhon missile system as part of a push to secure its maritime interests, prompting warnings from China of a regional “arms race”.
The US military deployed the medium-range missile system to the northern Philippines earlier this year for annual joint military exercises with its longtime ally and decided to leave it there despite criticism from Beijing that was destabilizing towards Asia.
Philippine Army Chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido told a press conference on Monday that the missile system would be “acquired because we see its feasibility and its functionality in our concept of implementation of archipelagic defense “.
“I am happy to inform our countrymen that your military is developing this capability in the interest of protecting our sovereignty,” he said, adding that the total cost of the acquisition would depend on “economics.”
The presence of the US missile launcher had angered Beijing, whose navy and coast guard forces have been involved in escalating clashes in recent months with the Philippines over reefs and waters in dispute in the South China Sea.
Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a key global shipping lane, despite an international ruling that its claim has no legal basis.
Manila and Washington, longtime treaty allies, have deepened theirs defense cooperation since Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos took office in 2022 and began rejecting Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea.
The United States makes no claims in the South China Sea, but has warned that it does forced to defend the Philippines if its forces are attacked there, and has declared that freedom of navigation is one of its fundamental national interests.
And on Monday, China quickly condemned the move to acquire the system as a “provocative and dangerous move” and warned it risked triggering an “arms race”.
“It is an extremely irresponsible choice for the history of his own people and the people of Southeast Asia, as well as for regional security,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Monday.
“The region needs peace and prosperity, not missiles and confrontation,” he added, urging Manila to “correct its wrong practices as soon as possible.”
As a rule, the Philippine military needs at least two years or more to acquire a new weapons system from the planning stage, Galido said on Monday, adding that it was not yet budgeted for 2025.
It took five years for Manila to receive the BrahMos cruise missile last year, he added.
The land-based “intermediate range capability” Typhon missile launcher, developed by Lockheed Martin for the US military, has a range of 300 miles, although a longer-range version is under development.
Galido said the Typhon system would allow the military to “project force” outward up to 200 nautical miles, which is the limit of the archipelago nation’s maritime rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
“It must be borne in mind that there is no land at 200 nautical miles and the army cannot go there,” he said.
The Typhon platform “will protect our floating assets,” he said, referring to Philippine Navy and Coast Guard vessels and other vessels.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun warned in June that the Typhon deployment was “seriously harming regional security and stability”.
But Galido dismissed criticism of the Typhon system in the Philippines.
“We should not be bothered by the apparent insecurities of others because we have no plans to get out of our country’s interests,” he said.