US missile system will remain in the Philippines despite China’s alarm

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — American and Filipino security officials have agreed to keep a U.S. mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines indefinitely to boost deterrence despite China’s expressions of alarm, two Philippine officials said Wednesday.

The U.S. Army transported the Typhon missile system, a land-based weapon that can fire the Standard Missile-6 and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, to the northern Philippines as part of combat exercises in April with Philippine troops and to test its deployability aboard an Air Force aircraft.

Tomahawk missiles can travel over 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers), which places China within their target range. Officials are considering keeping the missile system in the northern Philippines up to April next year, when U.S. 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 to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive U.S. missile deployment publicly. There was no immediate immediate comment from U.S. officials.

Chinese diplomats have repeatedly conveyed their alarm to the Philippine government, warning that the deployment of the missile system could destabilize the region.

A Philippine army spokesperson said earlier that the system was scheduled to be removed from the country by the end of this month. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. refused to confirm or deny the extension.

But Teodoro rejected China’s demands as interference in the Philippines internal affairs, speaking to reporters Tuesday on the sidelines of an Asian defense industry exhibition in Manila.

“China is saying that