By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-09-24 10:48:56 | Updated at 2024-09-30 11:41:43
6 days ago
The United States’ decision to base its advanced Typhon missile system in the Philippines indefinitely is seen by analysts as a risky gamble that could strengthen Manila’s deterrence capabilities and expose it to threats arising from its territorial dispute with China.
“It’s a strategic quandary,” said Vincent Kyle Parada, a former defence analyst for the Philippine Navy. “If the US and the Philippines keep the Typhon in place, China will see it as a threat to its neighbourhood,” said Parada, a graduate student at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
“If they remove the system, they acquiesce to Beijing’s demands and forfeit tactical and strategic advantages. But right now, it’s clear that Washington and Manila want to keep the Typhon as part of any cost-benefit calculus for Chinese escalation.”
The missile system, known as Typhon, is capable of striking targets over 2,500km away, placing critical areas like the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait within its reach.
In April, the US Army deployed a Typhon launcher – also known as the Mid-Range Capability (MRC) – in Northern Luzon during a joint training exercise. The system remains stationed there to allow Philippine troops to familiarise themselves with its operations.
