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Philippines’ Marcos Jnr offers to return US Typhon missiles if China ends ‘aggressive’ acts
Analysts say the proposal was likely rhetorical rather than genuine, with little chance Beijing would ever take up such a deal
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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has publicly offered to remove the US-made Typhon missile system from his country if China ceases its “aggressive and coercive behaviour” in the South China Sea.
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Security experts view the proposal as a rhetorical challenge rather than a genuine attempt at negotiation, given the unlikelihood of Beijing curbing its claims over the disputed waterway.
Marcos Jnr made his pledge on Thursday during the inauguration of an airport runway in Cebu, linking China’s numerous objections to the Typhon’s presence in the Philippines to Beijing’s own missile arsenal.
“I don’t understand their comments on the Typhon missile system. We don’t make any comments on their missile systems and their missile systems are a thousand times more powerful than what we have,” Marcos Jnr said.
China has yet to respond to the president’s remarks, but it has repeatedly demanded the Typhon’s removal since the land-based system, known formally as the Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile launcher, was delivered to the Philippines in April by US forces for use in joint drills.
The launcher has remained in the country since then and the Philippines has announced plans to acquire a Typhon system of its own.
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