China has said that the United States is “stoking military confrontation” by sending a potent missile launcher with a 1,600-kilometer maximum fire range to exercises in the Philippines. Following a series of deadly face-offs between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, during which Philippine ships were targeted with water cannons, injuring numerous Filipino sailors, the US Army’s Mid-Range Capability (MRC) ground-based missile system arrives in a tense region.
The MRC missile system, often referred to as the Typhon system, is being deployed for the first time to the Indo-Pacific theatre. This development coincides with a series of military drills between the US and the Philippines, the biggest of which will take place starting on Monday.The US Army has not said how long the Typhon system will remain in the Philippines, but its involvement in the series of joint exercises between the two treaty allies, the first of which began on April 8, sends a signal the US can put offensive weaponry well within striking distance of Chinese installations in the South China Sea, the southern Chinese mainland and along the Taiwan Strait, analysts say.
The Typhon system is capable of firing the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6), a ballistic missile defense munition that can also target ships at sea at a range of 370 kilometers (230 miles), according to the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). It also can fire the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, a maneuverable cruise missile with a range of 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles), according to the CSIS. According to Beijing its presence in the region increases the risks of “misjudgment and miscalculation.”
During a regular news briefing last week, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian accused the US of seeking a “unilateral military advantage,” and underscored Beijing’s strong opposition to the deployment. “We urge the US to earnestly respect other countries’ security concerns, stop stoking military confrontation, stop undermining peace and stability in the region, and take concrete actions to reduce strategic risks,” Lin said.The US Army is calling the deployment, which began April 11 for the Salaknib exercise, a “landmark” in its regional capability.The attendees will discuss “maritime peace, maritime order based on maritime security cooperation and international laws, and global maritime governance,” according to Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency.
Those are the same rules Washington and Manila accuse Beijing of ignoring with aggressive Chinese actions that have injured Filipino sailors and damaged vessels around disputed features in the South China Sea.The 1951 mutual defense treaty between the US and the Philippines – the oldest such US pact in Asia-Pacific – stipulates both sides would help defend each other if either were attacked by a third party.In brief comments to CNN on the sidelines of the gathering, US Adm. Stephen Koehler said: “I think it’s a great opportunity for all navies to get together and discuss all the issues.”Analysts say the deployment of the Typhon missile battery is the first signal of US plans to address what has long been an advantage for Beijing in the region.
“This in some way ‘equalizes’ the prior situation where (Chinese) missiles have threatened US forces along the First Island Chain (which includes the northern Philippines, Japan and Taiwan), and even further eastward along the Second Island Chain centering on Guam,” said Collin Koh, research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.”
Read more here.