Chinese state media: PH should return missile system to US
THE Armed Forces yesterday said it cannot be dictated upon by another country as to how it will defend Philippine territory from external threats.
AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla issued the remarks after a Chinese newspaper asked the Philippines to send the Typhon missile system back to the United States.
The missile system has been in the country since last year and had been used in military exercises between Filipino and US troops, including the huge-scale “Balikatan” exercise.
China has been demanding the return of the missile system to the US, saying it “gravely threatens regional countries’ security, incites geopolitical confrontation, and has aroused high vigilance and concerns of countries in the region.”
In a commentary yesterday, the People’s Daily, the newspaper of the governing Chinese Communist Party, said the Philippines has repeatedly reneged on its promise to withdraw the Typhon missile system from the South China Sea. It also said the region needs peace and prosperity, not intermediate range missiles and confrontation.
Last month, President Marcos Jr. said he is willing to send back the Typhon to the US if China stops its aggression against Filipinos in the West Philippine Sea.
The National Security Council has issued a statement denying China’s claim that it promised to withdraw the missile system. This after China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on Manila to pull out the missile launchers.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr yesterday called for unity among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in addressing emerging security challenges in the region, including the West Philippine Sea dispute.
“ASEAN has ensured the longest period of peace in any region since World War II. However, this peace is now under threat — not due to our incapacity to preserve it, but because of the absence of unanimity on key issues,” he said at the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Retreat in Malaysia.
Teodoro said there is a need to articulate the realities of the geopolitical environment to remain adaptive to rapid change and uncertainties.
DEFENSE
Padilla, in a briefing, said it is the mandate of the Armed Forces “to uphold national security.”
“We continue to uphold our stand that no particular country or foreign nation can dictate how we will be fortifying our defenses,” she said.
Padilla noted the Armed Forces has also been strengthening its alliances with like-minded nations, through the conduct of military exercises, to strengthen the country’s defensive capabilities.
“The AFP is committed to ensuring a secure and resilient Philippines in the face of modern challenges. Whatever modern challenges that we’re facing, we’re looking at how we would counter and mitigate attacks to our sovereignty,” said Padilla.
Teodoro, responding to China’s demand to the return the missile system, has said the Philippines is a sovereign state.
“Any deployment and procurement of assets related to the Philippines’ security and defense fall within its own sovereign prerogative and are not subject to any foreign veto,” Teodoro said in December.
Teodoro, at the ministers meeting yesterday, urged ASEAN to strengthen operational cooperation through joint patrols, exercises and intelligence-sharing.
Noting the success of the trilateral cooperation with Indonesia and Malaysia, Teodoro said such efforts should be further developed to address pressing security concerns.
He said ASEAN should reject “external attempts” to sow division within Southeast Asia. He also said ASEAN must be steadfast in its commitment to independence and strategic autonomy.
“We should resist coercion in whatever form and exchange information on foreign activities that are inimical to our national interests, such as online scams, trafficking in persons, illegal migration, which destroy the fabric of our respective societies,” said Teodoro.
GLOBAL ISSUE
On threats to Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea, Teodoro said this is not just a domestic or regional concern but a global issue that affects stability of international systems.
“At the heart of this matter is the existential right of smaller states — ASEAN member states in particular — to live in peace, secure their borders, and pursue their own destiny,” said Teodoro.
He highlighted the commitment of the Philippines to multilateralism, diplomacy, and the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law.
Teodoro urged ASEAN members to act decisively to preserve peace and stability, adding that the association’s strength lies in its ability to cooperate, consult, and take collective action when necessary.
“We may not always agree, but the spirit of ASEAN compels us to cooperate where we can, consult where necessary, and act when we must,” said Teodoro.
`TEMPORARY DEPLOYMENT’
The People’s Daily said the Philippines promised the Typhon would be on “temporary deployment” and would be withdrawn after the relevant exercises were completed, but it has repeatedly broken its promises and even changed its words, saying that it wanted to purchase the system and obtain deterrence capabilities.”
An English translation of the commentary was sent to media by the Chinese Embassy in Manila.
The daily said the deployment has “seriously damaged China-Philippines relations and the Philippines’ credibility.”
“The region needs peace and prosperity, not mid-range missiles and confrontation. The Philippines should abide by the Declaration on the Code of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, fulfill its commitment to withdraw the Typhon mid-range missile system, and not make mistakes again on this issue,” it added.
The Typhon includes Tomahawk cruise missiles capable of hitting targets in both China and Russia, while its SM-6 missiles can engage air or sea targets over 200 kilometers away.
The People’s Daily dismissed Manila’s statement that it is a defensive weapon system.
“The Philippines’ introduction of the mid-range missile system is nothing short of inviting thieves in and acting as a compliance. The Typhon mid-range missile system has both nuclear and conventional capabilities. It is not a defensive weapon, but a strategic and offensive weapon with a range covering most Southeast Asian countries,” it said, adding that Manila effectively surrendered its own security and national defense with non-regional countries, apparently referring to the US and Manila’s traditional allies such as Japan and Australia.
It criticized Manila’s decision to link the withdrawal of the missile system to the maritime territorial dispute in the South China Sea, saying that “it is not only absurd but dangerous.”
“China firmly safeguards its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, and will continue to take necessary measures to resolutely counter infringement and provocation,” it added.
