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Sam Beltran

The Philippines plans to purchase US-made mid-range missile systems in a deterrence upgrade that analysts say is crucial to protecting the country’s sovereignty – while also warning that logistical and financial challenges could limit its effectiveness.
Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro confirmed these government’s intent to “acquire capabilities of such sort” in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday.
“We will not compromise with our right to acquire any such kind of capabilities in the future within our territory,” he said.
While Chinese officials have not commented on Teodoro’s statement, China’s state-run Global Times tabloid said on Tuesday that the Philippines was “on track to become a real troublemaker in the South China Sea” due to its military ambitions, citing a Chinese academic.

Analysts view the potential acquisition as a key element of the Philippines’ Comprehensive Archipelagic Defence Concept.
The missile systems would enable the Armed Forces of the Philippines “to engage aggressors beyond our exclusive economic zone”, according to Filipino academic Sherwin Ona, a visiting fellow at the Institute for National Defence and Security Research in Taiwan.
He told This Week in Asia that these mid-range capability (MRC) missile systems would serve as “a strong deterrent and sends a strong message to potential enemies about our resolve to defend our sovereignty”.
However, Matteo Piasentini, a geopolitical analyst and international-relations lecturer at the University of the Philippines, warned of the complexities involved in acquiring and operating such systems. He suggested that the Philippine military could “leverage training provided by the US” to overcome potential challenges.
Philippine troops have already begun training with the Typhon MRC missile system, which was deployed to the Southeast Asian nation by the US earlier this year for the Salaknib joint military drills and Balikatan exercises.

This land-based system is capable of firing both Standard SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles, with ranges exceeding 240km (150 miles) and 2,500km, respectively.
Satellite imagery has confirmed the Typhon’s deployment in President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s home province of Ilocos Norte, positioning it within striking distance of targets in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
Initially, military officials indicated that the Typhon would be returned to the US after joint exercises. But they later announced that it would remain in the Philippines “until further notice” – leading to Chinese accusations that the US was provoking a regional arms race.
In September, Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said there was “no plan to pull out” the missile system, and armed forces chief Romeo Brawner Jnr expressed hope for its indefinite presence in the country.
Brawner Jnr had previously indicated a desire for the Philippines to procure its own missile system to strengthen its external defence strategy.

US support and costs
Although observers noted that familiarity with the Typhon system could facilitate its acquisition by the Philippines, they also highlighted the potential cost as a significant barrier.
US support was “definitely there”, Ona said, while cautioning that Philippine defence authorities must maintain flexibility in deployment. To that end, Manila has been exploring alternative systems from South Korea and Israel, looking for opportunities for technology transfer and co-production.
Joshua Espeña, vice-president of the Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation think tank, stressed the need for careful consideration in any government-to-government deal with the US.
“On the one side, the US must provide a cheaper package for the Philippines to purchase it,” he told This Week in Asia. “[Manila] must set its budgetary house in order via its capital outlay procurement budget on the other.”
Maintaining the missile system over the long term would be a challenge for Manila, Espeña warned, given that much of the annual defence budget typically goes toward personnel and maintenance.
“Without maintaining them properly, we might as well consider that these systems would soon be [obsolete],” he said.


The return of Donald Trump to the White House next year could further complicate the dynamics surrounding this purchase. Espeña said that Trump’s “transactional and personalistic” approach to negotiations might pressure the Philippines to assume greater responsibility in securing any agreement.
“It is in the Philippines’ interests to do more for its own security, and acquiring MRCs reflects that attitude,” he said.
Piasentini, however, played down concerns regarding reduced support under a Trump presidency.
“I don’t foresee challenges in training. The Typhon system, which the Philippines is currently eyeing, is already within the country’s territory,” he said.
As the Philippines moves forward with its plans for the acquisition, analysts agree that Beijing will closely monitor Manila’s actions
Piasentini said the Philippines appeared to be “seizing the opportunity to acquire this system and finalise the deal during the peak of its relations with the US”.
While he acknowledged the urgent need to fill gaps in defence capabilities “after years of inadequate planning”, Piasentini cautioned that this haste might overlook the broader implications and could indicate that “a thorough assessment of its regional consequences has not been conducted”.


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The Philippines

Can ‘troublemaker’ Philippines acquire US-made missiles of its own?

A mid-range capability (MRC) launcher from the US Army arrives for deployment on Northern Luzon, the Philippines, in April. Photo: US Army

Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro. Photo: EPA-EFE

The Typhon missile system in Ilocos Norte province, the Philippines, in September. Photo: Handout via Reuters

The Typhon is a land-based system capable of firing SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles. Photo: US Army

Will Trump deport the thousands of Filipinos living in the US illegally?

A group of migrants are apprehended by border officers after crossing into the US earlier this year. Photo: AFP

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez. Photo: Pool via Reuters

Donald Trump holds up an immigration numbers graph during his visit to the US southern border in Cochise County, Arizona on August 22. Photo: EPA-EFE

Is it time for the Philippines and China to resume talks over their maritime row?

Philippine vessels participate in a  military drill on Wednesday in the South China Sea. Photo: AP

A Chinese coastguard vessel seen near Thitu Island in the South China Sea on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Construction being carried out on the Philippine-occupied Thitu Island in the South China Sea. Photo: AP

Philippines strengthens South China Sea strategy with US$56 million Thitu Island upgrade

Thitu Island pictured from the air in 2017. Photo: AP

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr reviews an honour guard next to the coastguard patrol ship BRP Gabriela Silang in Manila on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

A civilian vessel docks at Thitu Island in March. Photo: Jeoffrey Maitem

Buildings and other structures are seen in 2022 on the artificial island built by China at Subi Reef. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

A Chinese coastguard vessel is pictured sailing past Thitu Island in December last year. Photo: AP 

Philippines refutes China’s arms race claim, says Typhon missile system for self-defence

Soldiers attaching a component of the Mid-Range Capability (MRC), or Typhon, at a military exercise in Northern Luzon, the Philippines, in June. Photo: US Army

Philippines Defence Minister Gilberto Teodoro speaking at a conference in Manila in August. Photo: Reuters

The US Typhon missile launch system. Photo: US Army

A US M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, deployed at a drill in August in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, the Philippines. Photo: Jeoffrey Maitem

Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner Jnr at the Asian Defence and Security Exhibition in Pasay City on Wednesday. Photo: Jeoffrey Maitem

South Korea and the Philippines: towards a strategic defence partnership?

FA-50 fighter jets, newly purchased from South Korea, pictured in the Philippines in 2016. Manila previously treated South Korea purely as a source of defence procurement, analysts say. Photo: Reuters

A US supply ship is seen docked at a shipyard at Subic Bay in the Philippines. Analysts say the Southeast Asian nation should be recognised as more than just the “Pearl Harbour of Asia”. Photo: Bloomberg

North Korean leader Kim Jong -un oversees a test launch of a ballistic missile on September 18. Photo: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr (left) and South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol prepare to pose for a photo at an Asean-South Korea Summit in Jakarta last year. Photo: AFP

This Week in Asia

Politics

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

The Philippines aims to enhance its defence capabilities by buying its own mid-range missiles, but questions about feasibility loom large


The Philippines aims to enhance its defence capabilities by buying its own mid-range missiles, but questions about feasibility loom large.


Defence

US-Asean relations

South China Sea