The Philippine military yesterday said it plans to acquire the US Typhon missile system to protect its maritime interests, some of which overlap with regional power China.
The US Army deployed the mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines earlier this year for annual joint military exercises with its longtime ally, and left it there despite criticism by Beijing that it was destabilizing to Asia.
Since then, it has been used by Philippine forces to train for its operation.
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“It is planned to be acquired, because we see its feasibility and its functionality in our concept of archipelagic defence implementation,” Philippine Army Commanding General Roy Galido told a news conference.
“I’m happy to report to our fellow countrymen that your army is developing this capability for the interest of protecting our sovereignty,” he said, adding that the total number to be acquired would depend on “economics.”
The presence of the US missile launcher in the northern Philippines had angered Beijing, whose navy and coast guard forces have engaged in escalating confrontations over the past few months with the Philippines over disputed reefs and waters in the South China Sea.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
As a rule, it takes at least two or more years for the Philippine military to acquire a new weapons system from the planning stage, Galido said, adding it was not yet budgeted for next year.
It took five years for Manila to take delivery of the BrahMos cruise missile last year, he added.
The land-based “mid-range capability” Typhon missile launcher, developed by US firm Lockheed Martin for the US Army, has a range of 480km, although a longer-range version is in development.
Galido said the Typhon system would enable the army to “project force” outwards up to 200 nautical miles (370km), which is the limit of the archipelago nation’s maritime entitlements under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“You have to take note of the fact that at 200 nautical miles there is no land there and the army cannot go there,” he said.
“We need to contribute to this [defense of Philippine interests] by having this platform to be able to assist the primary major service that would focus on maritime and air domain,” he added.
Under that scenario, the Typhon platform “will protect our floating assets,” he said, a reference to ships of the Philippine navy, coast guard and other vessel.
Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍) in June said that the Typhon deployment was “severely damaging regional security and stability.”
Galido dismissed the criticism against the Typhon system in the Philippines.
“We should not be bothered by others’ seeming insecurities, because we don’t have any plans to go outside of our country’s interests,” he said.
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