AFP: China can't dictate Typhon launchers’ deployment

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Friday rejected China's demand for the removal of US Typhon missile launchers, which were reportedly relocated to another site in Luzon.

“There is no single entity who can dictate how we would do our deployments in terms of our defenses,” AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla told reporters.

“It's an inherent right of every state to heighten and strengthen their defenses accordingly. How we would go about it is for us to freely do so. Walang puwedeng magdikta sa atin (no one can dictate) how we would do it,” she added.

Padilla explained that the Typhon missile launchers were deployed in the Philippines for training purposes, and their recent movement was part of logistical exercises. 

For security reasons, she declined to disclose the current location of the mid-range missile system.

Padilla also criticized China’s claim that the Typhon missile deployment was “highly dangerous,” pointing out that the presence of Chinese vessels and artificial islands in the South China Sea, both of which could also launch missiles, posed significant threats as well.

“Let us not home in on the capabilities that we are building as a nation because it is our inherent right to build our capabilities accordingly. And how we do that is we modernize, we strengthen our alliances, and no other nation can question that,” Padilla asserted.

China, on Thursday, reiterated its call for the Philippines to withdraw the Typhon missile system.

“We once again urge the Philippines to heed the concerns of regional countries and their peoples, correct this wrongdoing, quickly remove the Typhon missile system as publicly pledged, and avoid further going down the wrong path,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

A senior Philippine government source revealed that the US military had relocated its Mid-Range Capability missile system from Laoag Airfield to another site in Luzon, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The Typhon missile system includes Tomahawk cruise missiles capable of hitting targets in both China and Russia, while its SM-6 missiles can engage air or sea targets over 200 kilometers away, according to the report.

The official added that the redeployment was aimed at testing how quickly and efficiently the missile battery could be moved to a new firing position. — DVM, GMA Integrated News