22-04-2025
China Warns Neighbor for Welcoming US Missiles Onto Territory
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China issued a warning as U.S. and Philippine forces kicked off three weeks of joint military exercises.
For the first time, the drills will include an American ship killing missile system to strategic islands in the Luzon Strait, seen as a potential choke point separating the defense treaty ally from China-claimed Taiwan.
Newsweek reached out to the Philippine military and the U.S. Department of Defense for comment.
Why It Matters
The Philippines is part of the so-called First Island Chain, stretching southward from Japan to Indonesia, that Washington considers key to containing the Chinese navy in the event of a conflict, such as an invasion of Taiwan, which Beijing's ruling Chinese Communist Party claims, despite never having governed there.
During his visit to Manila, U.S. defense chief Pete Hegseth, who pledged continued U.S. support amid "communist China's aggression," announced the Navy/Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction Systems [NMESIS] would be deployed as part of the annual U.S.-Philippine Balikatan drills, dubbed the "Super Bowl" of military exercises for its scale.
What To Know
The NMESIS will feature in simulated rather than live-fire drills, local media cited the U.S. Marines as saying. Still, it will increase interoperability between the allies' forces.
Missile launchers are being airlifted to "multiple" of the Philippines' Taiwan-facing Batanes islands, according, the U.S. 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, which began operating the systems late last year, said in a statement.
"At present, the international community is facing the impact of unilateralism, protectionism, bullying and hegemony," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Monday, in a reference to U.S. President Donald Trump's effort to secure better trade terms through a broad offensive against China and scores of other partners.
The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment receives the Navy/Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System from Marine Corps Systems (NMESIS) on November 26, 2024.
The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment receives the Navy/Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System from Marine Corps Systems (NMESIS) on November 26, 2024.
Jacqueline C. Parsons/U.S. Marine Corps
The large-scale exercises and "deployed strategic and tactical weapons" have further "undermined regional strategic stability" and the "prospects for economic growth in the region," Guo said.
The official also reiterated Beijing's claim over Taiwan and warned: "those who play with fire will set themselves on fire."
China has pledged to eventually unify with Taiwan, through force if necessary, and continues to ramp up military drills around the island, including simulated beach landings.
The U.S., Taiwan's main arms supplier, maintains a decades-old policy of "strategic ambiguity" designed to keep Beijing uncertain about whether Washington would intervene in a conflict.
China has already repeatedly protested the U.S. Mid-Range Capability, or Typhon missile system, which was deployed to the Philippines in the days leading up to the 2024 Balikatan exercise.
The Typhon can be armed with Standard Missile-6s and Tomahawk cruise missiles, whose 1,000-mile range puts much of China's eastern seaboard within reach.
What People Are Saying
Zhang Junshe, a Chinese military affairs analyst, told state media outlet Global Times: "By deploying two types of missile systems, the U.S. has established a comprehensive long-, medium-, and short-range strike China's southeastern coastal areas, the Taiwan Straits, the Bashi Channel, and the northern South China Sea...
"In the event of a conflict, these locations where missiles are deployed will inevitably become targets for counterstrikes. The Philippines' approach essentially amounts to opening the door to a predator and will only backfire."
What Happens Next
The Balikatan exercise will run until May 10.
