China has growing concerns about a land-based U.S. missile launcher in the Philippines that was used in recent military drills, a move Beijing worries could significantly alter the balance of power if deployed on a permanent basis.
China’s envoys in Washington have been reaching out to sources for further details on the Typhon missile launcher that was deployed to the northern island of Luzon in the Philippines four months ago as part of a military drill.
A Chinese diplomat, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Nikkei Asia that the rocket launcher’s length of stay in the Indo-Pacific, an unusually long period for a drill, has caused unease in Beijing.
It was the first time the U.S. deployed ground-based missiles to a foreign country since it withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in August 2019, according to Xiaodon Liang, a senior policy analyst at the Arms Control Association.
It is also unclear where the Typhon missile launcher will be deployed next after Exercise Salaknib 24 in Luzon. At a recent “two-plus-two” meeting of foreign and defense ministers of the U.S. and Japan, the sides agreed to increase “bilateral presence” in Japan’s Southwest Islands. This has raised concerns that the midrange missiles may be deployed in Japan too, another Chinese defense official said.
Washington and Beijing have sought to stabilize ties after U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in November at the Filoli Estate in San Francisco.
The deployment of the missiles to the Philippines goes against what the two leaders discussed, the defense official said. “It’s like bringing a dagger to a lunch in which you are supposed to talk about improving relations.”
Philippine Army spokesman Col. Louie Dema-ala told Agence France-Presse last month that he expects the Typhon to be shipped out of the country in September at the latest. But local media have reported about the possibility that the stay may be extended.
Liu Pengyu, the Chinese Embassy in Washington spokesperson, told Nikkei, “China strongly opposes the U.S. deploying medium-range ballistic missiles in the Asia-Pacific to seek unilateral military advantage” and urged the Philippines to “quickly pull out the missile system as publicly pledged.”
By letting the U.S. deploy the missile system on Philippine soil, “the Philippines is enabling a country outside the region to fuel tensions and antagonism in this region, and incite geopolitical confrontation and arms race,” he added.
The Typhon launches two types of missiles: the Tomahawk cruise missile, with an estimated range of more than 1,600 kilometers, and the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) multipurpose interceptor with a range of up to 370 km.
“The Tomahawk missiles can reach the Chinese mainland [from the Philippines], although they may also be used to target ships,” Liang said. “The SM-6 is a shorter-range multi-purpose missile that can target both naval and air forces.”
Both have the potential to hamper China’s air defense systems in the opening salvos of a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait, enabling the U.S. Navy to move in large warships thereafter.
A midrange capability launcher from the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force in Washington is loaded into a U.S. Air Force C-17 en route to the Philippines on April 4. (U.S. Army)
The rocket launcher was airlifted to the Philippines on a 15-hour flight from the 1st Multidomain Task Force at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state. It is the first time elements of the “multi-domain task force,” the U.S. Army’s new unit that operates long-range precision weapons, has been deployed to the Indo-Pacific.
The army has established multi-domain task forces in Washington state, Germany and Hawaii, but has not been able to find a permanent home in the Indo-Pacific region.
“The fact the Chinese are wary of the midrange capability is confirmation of its strategic utility,” Thomas Karako, the director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies told Nikkei Asia.
“Mobile long-range strike launchers capable of holding at-risk surface targets should encourage pause and deter aggression in that part of the world,” he said. “Many more launchers should follow.”
On the possibility of midrange missiles being deployed to Japan, Liu said, “The Asia-Pacific region cherishes peace and prosperity, and does not need those missiles and confrontation.”
Since the signing the INF Treaty with the Soviet Union in 1987, the U.S. abolished all of its midrange and intermediate-range missiles. Meanwhile, China, which was not part of the treaty, amassed more than 2,000 of such missiles, creating a regional advantage over the U.S.
Washington is rushing to catch up. According to the fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, the army will purchase more than 330 of the newest Block V variant of the Tomahawk cruise missile for its midrange capability batteries over the next five years.
