“We need the Typhon missile system as part of our deterrence efforts”
WHY not?
Beijing will no doubt create a ruckus and claim the possible deployment by the United States of a second Typhon mid-range missile system in Philippines amounts to an escalation of the arms race in the South China Sea.
But look who’s talking. Who started to militarize the South China
Sea by building artificial islands even in parts of our Exclusive Economic Zone over which we claim sovereign rights according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)?
If reports of the potential second deployment of the US-made missile system in the country are accurate, this will reflect Washington’s commitment to assist us in our efforts to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity amid China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea based on its fictional ten-dash line claim of ownership over the vital sealane.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines is correct in welcoming the planned deployment of another battery of Typhon missiles in Philippine territory. “The more assets we have, the more that we are able to train more personnel,” according to its spokesperson.
We recall the US deployed one Typhon unit—also known as the Mid-Range Capability—to Northern Luzon in April 2024 as part of joint military drills, and it has remained in the country since then.
Capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of up to 2,500km (1,550 miles), the Typhon can reach areas in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
China has strongly opposed its deployment, repeatedly demanding the Philippines remove the system from its shores and accusing Manila of starting a regional arms race by hosting it.
The possibility of a second Typhon deployment had been reported by the Virginia-based Defence News, which said the US Army’s 3rd multi-domain task force (MDTF) unit was preparing a second Typhon battery “for deployment in the Pacific theatre”.
While the weekly newspaper did not specify whether the Typhon would be deployed to the Philippines, Michael Rose, the unit commander, said the US Army anticipated a support role for the Typhon in Operation Pathways, a series of year-round exercises to strengthen cooperation between Washington and its regional allies.
Operation Pathways encompasses the annual Balikatan joint military exercise between US and Philippine forces, which will run from April 21 to May 9, and other bilateral drills.
The US Army has said the Typhon will not be deployed for live-firing exercises at this year’s Balikatan. However, Manila and Washington are reportedly looking at other opportunities to do so in the near term.
Chester Cabalza, president of the Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, said the additional Typhon deployment would allow the US to fortify its position as the dominant military force in the Indo-Pacific. “Deployment of land-based missiles [such as the Typhon] shows a level of sophistication of power itself. It does not need to be test-fired to create a web of fear,” he said.
Another academic, Sherwin Ona, De La Salle University political science professor and a visiting fellow at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defence and Security Research, pointed out that a second Typhon deployment in the Philippines would act as another layer of “active deterrence” against regional threats and provide crucial training opportunities.
Then there’s another observer, Muhammad Faizal Bin Abdul Rahman, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, who believes a second Typhon battery deployment in the Philippines would definitely boost Washington’s standing among its Indo-Pacific allies.
The Philippine Navy, for its part, hailed the possible deployment of another Typhon battery in the country amid China’s “aggressive and coercive behavior” in the South China Sea.
Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, emphasized: “We welcome all opportunities to train with modern weapon systems. The defense posture of the Republic of the Philippines is not designed against any other country. It is an action of a sovereign state.”.
While the Philippine government is now implementing a new approach to national security through the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept that calls for accelerated AFP modernization, it also includes strengthening security cooperation with other friendly countries such as the US.
We need the Typhon missile system as part of our deterrence efforts, while we build up our own internal capability to address external threats.
(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)