US Keeps Missile System in Philippines as China Tensions Rise, Tests Wartime Deployment

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MANILA (Reuters) – The United States has no immediate plans to withdraw a mid-range missile system deployed in the Philippines, despite Chinese demands, and is testing the feasibility of its use in a regional conflict, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

US Keeps Missile System in Philippines as China Tensions Rise, Tests Wartime Deployment

Previously:

Philippines aims to acquire Typhon missile launcher as regional arms race intensifies

Philippines aims to acquire Typhon missile launcher as regional arms race intensifies

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China is against the deployment of the Typhon in the Philippines, which has been used in joint military exercises involving US troops

Philippines aims to acquire Typhon missile launcher as regional arms race intensifies

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian’s Regular Press Conference on August 30, 2024:

Bloomberg: The Philippines’ top military official said that the deployment of the US missile system in the country was mainly for training. China has been in the past said that the weapon system could be destabilizing. Does the Foreign Ministry have any comments on the recent comments by the Philippines’ military chief?

Lin Jian: On the US deployment of Mid-Range Capability missile system in the Philippines, China has made clear our opposition more than once. This move by the US and the Philippines incites geopolitical confrontation, escalates tensions in the region, and harms regional peace and stability. It has aroused high vigilance and concerns of countries in the region. The Philippines needs to have a clear understanding of the real intention of the US, respond to the common concerns of regional countries, avoid acting as the cat’s paw for the US at the expense of its own security interest, and quickly pull out the missile system as publicly pledged.

Germany, Philippines agree to broaden defence cooperation deal + Vietnam Sends Coast Guard Ship To Philippines For Joint Training

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Pistorius is the first German defence minister to visit the Philippines and hopes to finalise the agreement as early as October

Germany, Philippines agree to broaden defence cooperation deal

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Vietnam Sends Coast Guard Ship To Philippines For Joint Training

Philippine and Japan navies held their first bilateral drills in the contested waters, the Southeast Asian nation’s military said in a statement Friday.

YouTube: NATO’s NEW VICTIM: Missiles Deployed, $500M Aid, New US Proxy & Military Buildup|Dr. A.Malingdog-Uy

US Missile Deployment And $500M Military Aid To PH: Defensive Or Offensive Posturing?

US Missile Deployment And $500M Military Aid To PH: Defensive Or Offensive Posturing?

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LAST July 30, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III dropped by Manila for the Philippines-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue, the fourth such talks since it began in 2012. This is unprecedented because it’s the first time that talks have been held in Manila. Indeed, the PH-US 2+2 dialogue has set the stage for continued and expanded military cooperation, reflecting a strengthened military and defense alliance between the two sides. Before visiting Manila, the two US officials also held talks in Tokyo with their counterpart top Japanese defense and diplomatic officials on July 28 to bolster military and defense cooperation.

US Missile Deployment And $500M Military Aid To PH: Defensive Or Offensive Posturing?

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US missile system may stay in PH after military drill – Army

THE Philippine Army yesterday said a medium-range missile system [Typhon] of United States military may remain in the country beyond September this year, depending on the training needs of Filipino troops.

China-Philippines ties may improve, as long as US stops interfering

Why Are There Fears of War in the South China Sea?

Philippine ruling elite whips up anti-China campaign to justify alignment with US war plans

As the United States steps up its campaign to provoke China into war, the Philippines has lined up behind Washington, increasingly transforming the country into a lead attack dog in the region for American imperialism. Seeking to obscure the fact that the country has now been placed on the front lines of a catastrophic conflict, the Philippine ruling elite is demonizing China and people of Chinese ethnicity with absurd and lurid claims that Beijing is infiltrating spies into the country.

Philippine ruling elite whips up anti-China campaign to justify alignment with US war plans

China gathers naval leaders worldwide to discuss maritime security while US conducts drills to ‘destabilize S. China Sea’

US and Philippines launch Balikatan joint military drills in South China Sea

This year’s staging of Balikatan, the allies’ largest annual military drill, will include a joint sail in the disputed South China Sea outside the Philippines’ territorial waters. The French navy, a first-time Balikatan participant, and the Australian navy will also join the manoeuvres.

While the US and the Philippines resumed joint naval patrols in the area last year, and the US has in the past sailed there with other allies and partners, it will be the first time that the Balikatan drills have extended beyond 12 nautical miles off the Philippine coast and into waters claimed by China.

Six Philippine coast guard vessels will also participate in the drill, the first time the service — which has been at the forefront of frequent clashes with China over the past year — has been included in a military exercise.

Another closely watched component of the drills will be the Strategic Mid-Range Fires missile system, known as Typhon, which has a range of up to 2,500km. The US Army airlifted the system to the Philippines this month, the first such deployment in the Indo-Pacific. Intermediate-range ground-launched missiles had been banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, but the pact collapsed in 2019 after both the US and Russia left it.

Troops will also practise tracking and targeting air and missile threats, retaking enemy-occupied islands in the Philippines’ far north, just south of Taiwan, and sinking a ship off the coast facing the South China Sea, expanding on drills last year.

The exercise coincides with an annual conference by China’s Navy, which will be attended by senior military officers including from the US. It also comes as US secretary of state Antony Blinken is heading to China on Wednesday in the two countries’ latest effort to manage tense relations.

Related:

China gathers naval leaders worldwide to discuss maritime security while US conducts drills to ‘destabilize S. China Sea

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US Missiles Made For, Aimed at China

The United States is working toward fielding a number of new weapon systems including the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), the “Typhon” Mid-Range Capability missile launcher, and the “Dark Eagle” Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon, all designed from the ground up almost entirely to fight China in a future war the US envisions it can wage to prevent the East Asian nation from surpassing it militarily and economically both within the Indo-Pacific region, and globally.

US Missiles Made For, Aimed at China (archived)