China’s repeated calls to remove a powerful U.S. missile system from Philippine territory are unlikely to be heeded anytime soon, as Manila not only trains its soldiers on the Typhon launcher but also plans to acquire its own midrange system, according to Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro.
“We definitely have plans to acquire those types of capabilities, including our own MRC (midrange capability). That is in the pipeline,” Teodoro told The Japan Times in a recent interview. He did not specify whether Manila is aiming to acquire the Typhon or a similar system to boost deterrence.
His remarks come as Manila continues to hike military spending while also eyeing off-budget measures such as long-term private loans to fund military modernization programs.
The Philippine defense chief said the moves “are for the protection of our territorial integrity and sovereignty,” denying China’s claims that they will be destabilizing for the region.
“We feel we have the right to field these deterrent capabilities ... because we are operating under an open, transparent and democratic governmental system that has shown more maturity and responsibility under international law than the sole objector to us having these capabilities, which is China,” Teodoro said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party as "the biggest destabilizer in the Indo-Pacific."
China has lashed out at the U.S. Typhon deployment to the Philippines last April, ostensibly as part of the Balikatan joint military exercises. The continued presence of the system — it has since been deployed to a new undisclosed location — as well as the training of Philippine troops to operate it have alarmed Beijing whose ships have engaged in several clashes with Philippine vessels in recent months following Chinese incursions into waters within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from its coast.
While Manila, Washington's oldest treaty ally in Asia, has said that the deployment of the system, which can fire both Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles and SM-6 air-defense missiles, is not meant for offensive purposes, Beijing has criticized the decision as “creating tensions and antagonism in the region” and inciting an arms race.
“This is a highly dangerous move,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said last month, urging Manila to quickly remove the “strategic offensive weapon” and “stop going further down the wrong path.”
Beijing’s reasoning, however, continues to elude President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s government.
“I don’t understand their comments on the Typhon missile system,” the Philippine leader said on Jan. 30. “We don’t make any comments on their missile system, and their missile systems are a thousand times more powerful than what we have.”
China has thousands of advanced ballistic and cruise missiles capable of striking the Philippines with both nuclear and conventional warheads, while Manila maintains a relatively small arsenal of nonnuclear weapons that could hit the Chinese mainland.
But Marcos also hinted that the system could be removed — if China stops what he described as harassment and aggressive and coercive behavior in the South China Sea.
The fingerpointing comes as the Philippines has crafted a new comprehensive archipelagic defense strategy focused more on deterrence that includes areas within its exclusive economic zone.
Manila, however, is not the only U.S. ally in Asia that Washington is eyeing for possible midrange missile deployments. Since at least last year, the U.S. military has openly expressed interest in sending such systems to Japan.
Tokyo has denied repeated media reports highlighting the possibility, though proponents say such a move would help deter Beijing, especially around Japan’s southwestern islands near Taiwan, where China has been ramping up military activities.
Japan already plans to deploy an extended-range version of its Type 12 missile system to the area sometime in fiscal year 2025, which starts in April, to support other units operating earlier versions of the system.
Asked whether Manila, Washington and Tokyo are coordinating the deployment of these systems as part of their trilateral defense cooperation agreement announced last April, Teodoro declined to comment, calling the issue classified.
On the subject of trilateral and bilateral ties, the defense chief said he sees great potential for both relationships to reach new heights in the coming years. In fact, in a phone call this week with his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth, Teodoro discussed the importance of "re-establishing deterrence in the South China Sea, including by working with allies and partners." At the same time, the defense chiefs discussed "enhancing the capability and capacity" of the Philippine military.
Teodoro said he also sees greater cooperation possibilities with Japan, including via the visiting-forces deal Tokyo and Manila signed last year.
Known as a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), the pact — which still must be ratified in Japan’s parliament — will facilitate larger and more complex joint military exercises and grant the Self-Defense Forces greater access to Philippine bases.
Among other things, the RAA will allow the SDF to join key multilateral exercises not just as an observer but as a full participant, with the consent of the other partners, while also enhancing interoperability, according to Teodoro.
“There is already trust and confidence, so now we need to have interoperability to, among other things, strengthen our alliance-building efforts,” he said.
Teodoro also said he expects the RAA to result in some type of rotational deployment by the SDF.
“That comes with it,” he said. “Our experience with partners is that these exercises take place throughout the year, so, by necessity there will be a rotation of different kinds of service members depending on the agreed pace and what the countries can support and absorb.”
Both Japan and the Philippines have territorial disputes with China and sit on the so-called first island chain that links them with Taiwan — the flash point island that Beijing claims as its own.
Similar outlooks and shared concerns, along with an alignment of political values and strategic priorities, have been key factors driving Japan and the Philippines closer. This has included boosted maritime cooperative activities, security training, humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief cooperation, as well as Tokyo’s provision of over a dozen coast guard vessels to Manila.
Tokyo has made Manila the sole beneficiary of two tranches of military aid under its official security assistance (OSA) program. The latest package includes a ¥1.6 billion ($10.5 million) grant for defense gear, and the Philippines is again among a handful of countries Tokyo is considering for the next OSA tranche.
“We realize that building a more powerful Philippines is also important for Japan,” Teodoro said, noting that OSA assets will not only help improve the Philippines’ maritime security capabilities but also strengthen the overall partnership.
“Since we are in the process of developing a credible deterrent posture, the assistance is valuable to us,” he said, highlighting how OSA can support Manila’s efforts to become “an enforcer of international law.”
While the Philippines will continue working with Japan on traditional defense capabilities, it will simultaneously look to Tokyo to make “new propositions” to equip and empower smaller countries to defend themselves “adequately.”
In this regard, Teodoro also sees room for greater defense-industrial cooperation with Japan.
“We're not looking into small arms manufacturing or the like. What we now need are higher-level capabilities that can deter,” he said.
“We can collaborate on (a) defense industry and technology buildup, not only bilaterally, but also multilaterally," the defense chief noted, adding that Japanese companies could become innovation partners that help develop the systems needed to respond to the “future nature of conflict.”
“Everybody talks about drone technology now, but it's not the future anymore. It's the present,” Teodoro said. “We need to go a step forward on the research and development cycle.”
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