• The Philippines has assured China of the presence of a US intermediate-range missile system.
• The deployment of the US missile system could escalate regional tensions and spark an arms race.
• Tensions have increased between China and the Philippines over disputed territories.

On Friday, the Philippines assured China that the presence of a US intermediate-range missile system on its territory poses no threat and will not destabilize the region. The US deployed this missile system to the Philippines in April as part of joint military drills, marking the first time it has established such a system in the Indo-Pacific region.

On Friday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said that during bilateral talks in Laos on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed concerns about the missile system’s presence, describing it as “destabilizing.”

However, Manalo assured Wang that the presence of the system posed no threat.

“He (Wang) said it could be destabilizing, the presence, and I said ‘No, they’re not destabilizing’,” Manalo told a forum with foreign correspondents.

“I believe that (the) particular missiles he’s referring to are only there temporarily,” he added.

Wang warned that deploying the US intermediate-range missile system could escalate regional tensions and spark an arms race. Although the Typhon missile system, capable of firing Tomahawk land attack and SM-6 missiles, was not used during the drills, the Philippines stated that it was shipped to test the feasibility of transporting the 40-tonne weapon system by air.

Security engagements between the Philippines and its treaty ally, the United States, have intensified as both nations aim to counter what they perceive as China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea and near Taiwan. Tensions have particularly increased between China and the Philippines over disputed territories in the South China Sea.

Last week, the Philippines accused China’s air force of conducting dangerous maneuvers over the contested Scarborough Shoal. China responded by asserting that its aircraft operated lawfully and professionally. This air incident followed an agreement between Manila and Beijing to improve the management of maritime disputes. Manalo also expressed hope that China would honor its provisional arrangement with Manila concerning resupply missions to a beached vessel at the Second Thomas Shoal, another contested area.

When asked if the arrangement could be replicated in other contested areas of the South China Sea, Manalo said it would depend on the situation. China claims most of the South China Sea as its territory, including the Scarborough and Second Thomas Shoals. It rejects the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which found that Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea had no basis under international law.

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