MANILA: The Philippine military said Monday it plans to acquire the US Typhon missile system to protect its maritime interests, some of which overlap with regional power China.
\nThe US Army deployed the mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines earlier this year for annual joint military exercises with its longtime ally, but decided to leave it there despite criticism by Beijing that it was destabilizing to Asia.
\nSince then, it has been used by Philippine forces to train for its operation.
\n\u201cIt is planned to be acquired because we see its feasibility and its functionality in our concept of archipelagic defense implementation,\u201d Philippine Army chief Lt. General Roy Galido told a news conference.
\n\u201cI\u2019m happy to report to our fellow countrymen that your army is developing this capability for the interest of protecting our sovereignty,\u201d he said, adding the total number to be acquired would depend on \u201ceconomics.\u201d
\nAs a rule, it takes at least two or more years for the Philippine military to acquire a new weapons system from the planning stage, Galido said, adding it was not yet budgeted for 2025.
\nThe land-based \u201cmid-range capability\u201d missile launcher, developed by US firm Lockheed Martin for the US Army, has a range of 480 kilometers, though a longer-range version is in development.
\nThe presence of the US missile system on Philippine soil had angered Beijing, whose forces have engaged in escalating confrontations in recent months with the Philippines over disputed reefs and waters in the South China Sea.
\nChinese Defense Minister Dong Jun warned in June that the Typhon deployment was \u201cseverely damaging regional security and stability.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MANILA: The Philippine military said Monday it plans to acquire the US Typhon missile system to protect its maritime interests, some of which overlap with regional power China. The US Army deployed the mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines earlier this year for annual joint military exercises with its longtime ally, but decided to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451159,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-451146","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n