China tells PH: What we need is peace, not a mid-range missile system

LANDMARK DEPLOYMENT The US Army’s Typhon Mid-Range Capability missile system arrived at an undisclosed location in northern Luzon on April 11 for the “Salaknib” exercises. — File photo from USARPAC

MANILA, Philippines — The world needs peace and prosperity, not a mid-range missile system, China insisted on Wednesday.

An unidentified spokesperson of the Chinese embassy made the remark following Defense chief Gilberto Teodoro Jr.’s assertion that the Philippines has a right to allow the deployment of the US missile system in the country despite China’s continuous opposition to it.

In his remarks on Tuesday, Teodoro said these plans on military enhancement are part of the country’s Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept “on the basis of the Philippines’ own national interest and in accordance with our independent foreign policy.”

“It is not targeted against specific countries. Instead, it is targeted against security risks, threats and challenges,” he maintained.

Teodoro then demanded that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) reduce tensions and instability in the region by ceasing its saber rattling, stopping its provocative actions, halting its interference in other countries’ internal affairs, and withdrawing its illegal presence from the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

In response, an unnamed Chinese embassy spokesperson branded Teodoro’s remarks as baseless and malicious.

“We firmly oppose and strongly condemn such statement which is nothing but unjust accusation filled with ideological bias and based on bloc confrontation and the Cold War mentality,” said the spokesperson on Wednesday.

“China’s position on the US deploying the mid-range capability missile system in the Philippines is consistent and clear,” the unidentified spokesperson emphasized.

“Our part of the world is in need of peace and prosperity, not [a] mid-range capability missile system or confrontation,” the spokesperson pointed out.

The embassy spokesperson then claimed that Teodoro’s remarks ran counter to President Marcos’ instruction to reduce the escalation of maritime tensions through dialogue.

The spokesperson also claimed that the views of the Philippine defense secretary contradict both countries’ relentless diplomatic efforts to manage their differences through communication and consultation.

The spokesperson then called on the Philippines to heed China’s call to have the Typhon missile system “promptly pulled out as it has publicly pledged, and stop going further down the wrong path.”

The Typhon missile arrived in the Philippines from the United States on April 11 and was first used during the two countries’ bilateral war games.

The deployment of such a weapon comes amid mounting maritime tensions.

China’s continued aggression in Philippine waters is borne out of a sweeping claim over most of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea.

However, the claim has long been dismissed by an arbitral tribunal.