China should disarm before criticising US Typhon deployment: Philippines defence chief

Tomahawk missiles can travel over 1,000 miles (1,600km), which places China within their target range. Officials are considering keeping the missile system in the northern Philippines up to April next year, when US and Philippine forces are scheduled to hold their annual Balikatan – Tagalog for “shoulder to shoulder” – large-scale combat exercises, he said.

The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the sensitive US missile deployment publicly. There was no immediate comment from US officials.