China on Thursday again urged the Philippines to pull out the Typhon missile launchers of the United States after they were reportedly moved to another location in Luzon.
“We once again call on the Philippines to heed the call from regional countries and their peoples, correct the wrongdoing as soon as possible, quickly pull out the Typhon missile system as publicly pledged, and stop going further down the wrong path,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a press conference in Beijing.
A senior Philippine government source said that the US military has moved its Mid-Range Capability missile system from Laoag airfield to another location in Luzon, Reuters reported on Thursday.
The Tomahawk cruise missiles in the launchers can hit targets in both China and Russia from the Philippines while the SM-6 missiles can strike air or sea targets more than 200 kilometers away, the report said.
According to the Philippine official, the redeployment would help determine where and how fast the missile battery could be moved to a new firing position.
Mao said that with the deployment of the US’ Typhon missile launchers in the region, “the Philippines is essentially creating tensions and antagonism in the region and inciting geopolitical confrontation and an arms race.”
“This is a highly dangerous move and an extremely irresponsible choice for its own people, the people of the other Southeast Asian countries, and regional security,” she added.
‘Meddling’
Mao also called out the US for its alleged meddling with maritime issues in the South China Sea (SCS).
This was in response to the recent statement of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio affirming the Trump administration’s “ironclad commitment” to the Philippines amid the “dangerous” actions of China in the SCS.
“The US is not a party to the South China Sea issue and has no right to interfere in the maritime issues between China and the Philippines,” she said.
“The military cooperation between the US and the Philippines should not undermine China’s sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the SCS, still less should such cooperation support or advance the Philippines’ illegal claims,” she added.
Despite the US and the Philippines’ cooperation, Mao said China will continue its actions “to firmly safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests and uphold peace and stability in the SCS.”
Tensions continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China’s claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had “no legal basis.”
China refused to recognize the decision.
–VAL, GMA Integrated News
