Marcos' stance on Typhon missiles in PH 'unchanged'

Malacañang on Thursday maintained that President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr.'s stance regarding China's call to remove the United States' Typhon missile from the South China Sea remains "unchanged."

''Hindi po nagbabago ang Pangulo sa kaniyang pronouncement – mayroon po siyang mga demands – kung gustong mag-demand po ng China mayroon po tayong counter demand diyan, pareho pa rin po ng ating stance, ang Pangulo ganoon pa rin po ang kaniyang stance,'' Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said in a press briefing. 

(The President's pronouncement has not changed. He has his own demands to counter China's call. The President's stance remains the same.) 

On Wednesday, the Chinese state media again called on the Philippines to withdraw the United States' Typhon intermediate range missile from the South China Sea, claiming that the Philippines had repeatedly broken its promises by introducing the missile system.

Marcos previously said that he is willing to pull out the Typhon missiles only if China will stop its aggressions in the West Philippine Sea.

"Let's make a deal with China: Stop claiming our territory, stop harassing our fishermen and let them have a living, stop ramming our boats, stop water cannoning our people, stop firing lasers at us, and stop your aggressive and coercive behavior, and I'll return the Typhon missiles," Marcos previously said.

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 a Reuters report.

—VAL, GMA Integrated News