China has been up in arms over a new US missile system that showed up in the Indo-Pacific earlier this year, with government officials in Beijing complaining about the weapon repeatedly, including twice in the past week alone.
The US military deployed its Mid-Range Capability, or Typhon, missile system to the Philippines in April, and US military officials have expressed interest in deploying it in Japan.
The MRC is a versatile new ground-based missile system that is capable of firing the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) and Tomahawk Land Attack Missile System. Developed for the US Army, the system is intended to fill a key gap in the US arsenal, but it’s raising concerns as the US military begins deploying land-based intermediate-range missiles once barred by a now-defunct arms-control treaty.
The US military deployed the missile system overseas for the first time in April, putting it in the Philippines amid a joint exercise between the two militaries. It was characterized as a “landmark deployment” marking “a significant milestone for the new capability while enhancing interoperability, readiness, and defense capabilities in coordination” with the Philippines, US Army Pacific said at the time.
While the new weapon wasn’t fired during the exercise, its presence in the region irked China, which demanded the system be removed.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said in August that his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi had expressed concern over Typhon while the two talked at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Laos a month earlier. Manalo said China made the situation “very dramatic” despite reassurances.
Earlier this month, the US said it had no plans to remove MRC from the Philippines, which also isn’t in a rush to see it go. The move angered Beijing further.
“China has made clear our opposition more than once,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said last Thursday during a regular press conference. He added that “the deployment is a move to turn back the wheel of history. It gravely threatens regional countries’ security, incites geopolitical confrontation, and has aroused high vigilance and concerns of countries in the region.”
The Chinese military’s Rocket Force notably maintains a substantial missile arsenal that includes medium- and intermediate-range systems that put US assets and bases in the region at risk, leading the US to rethink its assets and capabilities in the Indo-Pacific.
China’s MRC woes may not be limited to the Philippines, which has expressed interest in acquiring its own mid-range weapons and training on the American weapon. Deploying the MRC in Japan is apparently on the table, too. At a Defense News conference on September 4, Secretary of the Army Christine Warmouth said the US and Japan had discussed placing a Typhon there.
Lin said during a press briefing last Wednesday that the US was “hellbent” on its military investment in the Pacific region, noting that putting Typhon in Japan “will heighten arms race, exacerbate regional tensions, threaten peace and security in this region, and disrupt global strategic balance and stability.” Lin said that China has urged the US to abandon its plans.
During the Trump administration, in response to serious allegations of Russian violations, the US officially withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty — which banned nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.
Since 2019, the door has been wide open for the development and deployment of these weapons.
US allegations that Russia violated the treaty prompted Moscow to resign from the agreement. Russia is said to have violated the Cold War-era arms-control pact by developing and fielding the SSC-8/9M729 missile system.
Arms-control experts have said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s violation of the INF Treaty and subsequent US developments would likely have a snowball effect. Not only are new missiles showing up in the Pacific, but there are plans for Europe as well.
The US and some of its NATO allies formally announced in July they were pushing ahead with plans to develop and field new long-range strike options in Europe after seeing the value of such weapons in the war in Ukraine. Some experts suggested that this emerging arms race reflects one of the most dangerous aspects of the Cold War.
