China Opposes US Army Deployment of Typhon Missile System

China’s increasingly assertive behavior in the South China Sea prompted the US to deploy more advanced weapons systems to the Philippines and conduct high-profile military exercises with Indo-Pacific allies and partners. Pamir expects geopolitical tensions to persist as regional stakeholders show no sign of modulating their military postures. 

In April, for the first time, the US Army deployed its Mid-Range Capability (MRC) ground-based missile system, also known as the Typhon system, to the Northern Luzon area of the Philippines. The northern tip of Luzon is less than 200 miles south of the southern tip of Taiwan. The deployment was made in time for Exercise Salaknib 24, an annual two-week joint military exercise between the US Army Pacific and Philippine Army that began on 8 April. 

• The Typhon system is capable of firing medium range missiles like the SM-6 and Tomahawk cruise missiles. 
• The Tomahawk has a range of over 1,000 miles. Deployed in Luzon, the missile can reach all China-controlled islands in the South China Sea as well as military bases along China’s southern coast. 
• The US Army hailed the deployment of the MRC system in the Indo-Pacific region as a “historic first.”

On 19 April, the Chinese Foreign Ministry protested the deployment of the Typhon system.

• The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that China “strongly opposes” the US deployment at “China’s doorstep to seek unilateral military advantage. The US move exacerbates tensions in the region and increases the risk of misjudgment and miscalculation.” 
• The spokesperson also warned the Philippines to “be mindful of what the US is truly after and the consequence of going along with the US. The Philippines needs to think twice about being a cat’s paw for the US at the expense of its own security interests.” 

The deployment of the Typhon system took place during an intense period of joint military exercises involving the US and the Philippines. In addition to the Exercise Salaknib 24, on 22 April the US and the Philippines launched the three-week Balikatan drills, the largest annual US-Philippines military exercise, which involved nearly 17,000 US and Philippine military personnel. 

• Australia and France participated in this exercise; this marked France’s first participation in the drill. 
• Also, for the first time, the exercise was conducted outside Philippine territorial waters. 
• Representatives from 14 countries, including Japan and India, observed the exercise. 

China’s Foreign Ministry stated that the involvement of countries not contiguous to the South China Sea would only provoke confrontation and undermine regional security.