Philippines responds after China accuses it of 'violating commitments' on Typhon missiles

The Philippines says it has never made a commitment to China to move the Typhon missile system out of the country.

Typhon system at Laoag International Airport in the Philippines on September 13, 2024

The Philippine National Security Council (NSC) on February 15 affirmed that the country has never committed to China to transfer the US Typhon missile system, which was deployed from April 2024.

The remarks, made by NSC spokesman Jonathan Malaya, came after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said the Philippines "violated" its commitment that "the deployment was temporary," according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

"The Philippines has never promised China that we will withdraw the Typhon missile system. We have not given any commitment to China on this," Mr. Malaya said at a press conference in Manila with other Philippine security officials.

Earlier on February 12, Mr. Guo said at a press conference in Beijing that "the Philippines has repeatedly broken its word." "The Philippines has repeatedly explained the deployment of the Typhon system, promising that the deployment is temporary and the system will be removed from the country after the relevant military exercise. However, they have violated such a commitment, saying that they will have their own medium-range system and equip it with this deterrence capability," according to a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Mr Malaya said Beijing was "misleading" in its comments about the deployment of US missile systems to the Philippines, as China has also conducted "routine military training exercises" in which it deployed or tested some of its ballistic missiles.

“In every single instance where China has conducted these tests, they have never heard anything from us. We have never criticized, we have never commented, even on the fact that they are constantly improving their strike capabilities,” he said.

Mr. Malaya said that if China was referring to a statement by Philippine military spokesman Louie Dema-ala in July 2024 that the medium-range missile system would be removed from the country by September 2024, then “it was not a high-level directive” and was “simply an opinion… not a statement on behalf of the Philippine government ’s policy.”

Following Mr. Malaya's remarks, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said that the Philippines not only "abandoned its security and defense into the hands of others, but also brought the risk of geopolitical confrontation and arms race in the region."

According to Mr. Truong, the Typhon system is a "strategic offensive weapon".

Tomahawk cruise missiles can be launched from Typhon launchers in the Philippines with enough capacity to hit targets in China or Russia, while SM-6 missiles can strike air and sea targets within a range of more than 200 km.

The Typhon system was brought to the Philippines in April 2024 for annual military exercises between Philippine and US troops. Philippine security officials said it was redeployed from Laoag airport in Ilocos Norte province to an undisclosed location on Luzon island.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bi-trung-quoc-to-vi-pham-cam-ket-ve-ten-lua-typhon-philippines-phan-ung-185250216065031809.htm