The Philippines say it's looking to buy Typhon intermediate-range missile launchers from the U.S. to boost its defense against Chinese aggression in the region. The Typhon launchers can put Chinese targets within range of Philippine territory.
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00:00The Philippines says it's looking to buy intermediate-range missile launchers from the United States to
00:05boost its defense against Chinese aggression in the region.
00:09In an interview with the Financial Times, the country's Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro
00:14confirmed that the military was looking to acquire the Typhoon launcher system after
00:18the U.S. brought it for drills in April.
00:21The launchers could be deployed in the northern part of the country, which would give the
00:25Philippines the ability to intercept and hit targets beyond 450 kilometers.
00:31If more advanced U.S. missiles are used, this could boost the range to over 1,600 kilometers,
00:37making them able to reach targets in China.
00:41And to learn more about what the new missile launchers mean for security in the region,
00:46Hemeo Com spoke to Aaron Mathew-Lariosa, a security analyst based in Washington, D.C.
00:52Aaron, I want to first start off with this Typhoon missile launcher.
00:55Why is this system significant for security in the region?
00:58There was a lot of speculation last year to see where it would get deployed first.
01:03People were thinking Japan, maybe somewhere on Guam, perhaps Okinawa, and it ended up
01:07being the Philippines.
01:08You know, and the Philippines is a very significant deployment.
01:11And you know what?
01:12The system actually brings to the archipelago.
01:15They stationed essentially a ground-based naval launcher that could fire Tomahawk cruise
01:19missiles that could reach the Chinese mainland and anything within the South China Sea.
01:23It's a very capable system and it sends a really strong message.
01:26Strong enough that, you know, China has made noise, let's just say complaints, about the
01:31system being based in the Philippines since the deployment in April.
01:34And what are you hearing from military officials in the Philippines?
01:38Is this part of a shift or is there a clear consensus that this is kind of the way to
01:42go to manage this rise of Chinese aggression in the region?
01:46Whenever we try to talk with the army, obviously, you know, how the services act, they kind
01:50of just say, this isn't meant to deter anybody or it's not meant to like, you know, it's
01:55not specifically against China.
01:56That's what they always say.
01:57The deployment area, of course, very significant because it faces both the Luzon Strait, which
02:02right across is Taiwan, and that's bringing up, rightfully so, the Bajie Channel.
02:06Very strategic piece of water.
02:10Very major transiting point between the first and second island chains.
02:13And then again, if we look westwards, that's the South China Sea, where everything's
02:16actually happening.
02:17So the deployment here kind of goes off both of those signals.
02:20It basically says, you know, China, we could threaten stuff in the South China Sea, and
02:25we can also lock down this crucial piece of maritime geography.
02:28And what are the implications for Taiwan?
02:31This system is positioned at the tippy tippy top near Taiwan and that waterway between
02:36Taiwan and the Philippines.
02:37Does this bring anything to security for Taiwan?
02:40So you know, very complicated question in terms of how we actually, we got there, how
02:45we get to the use for a Taiwan contingency operation.
02:48But let's say, you know, let's take Liberia and say Manila allows use of its territory
02:53in the event of that.
02:54You essentially have a launcher that could lock cruise missiles within a pretty large
02:59landmass just south of the main landing port, which is Kaohsiung, right?
03:03So this thing could affect a lot, you know?
03:07The Americans basically get a cruise missile launcher base anywhere in northern Luzon,
03:10which is a big place.
03:11So, you know, those ramifications are pretty big for any Chinese force planners that want
03:15to do anything with Taiwan.