US Typhon missile system’s presence in Japan sharpens Asia arms race

IWAKUNI, Japan – The United States on Sept 15 showcased its Typhon intermediate-range missile system in Japan for the first time, underscoring Washington and Tokyo’s growing willingness to field weapons that Beijing has condemned as destabilising.

The land-based launcher, capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles with enough range to strike China’s eastern seaboard or parts of Russia from Japan, will feature in the annual Resolute Dragon exercise.

The two-week drill involves 20,000 Japanese and US troops, along with warships and missile batteries.

“Employing multiple systems and different types of munitions, it is able to create dilemmas for the enemy,” said Colonel Wade Germann, commander of the task force that operates the missile system, at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in front of the launcher.

“The speed with which it can be deployed enables us to forward-position it when required expeditiously,” he said, adding that Typhon will leave Japan after Resolute Dragon. He declined to say where the unit will go next or whether it will return to Japan.

The system’s unveiling in western Japan follows its deployment to the Philippines in April 2024, a move that drew sharp criticism from Beijing and Moscow, which accused the US of fuelling an arms race.

Col Germann declined to say whether the unit in Japan was the same one that was deployed to the Philippines.

Typhon was still in the Philippines when Reuters last checked with the military on Aug 28. 

The US also conducted live-fire exercises in Australia in 2025 but its presence in Japan, closer to China, could prompt a stronger reaction, military analysts say.

China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Typhon’s latest deployment.

“In the past, these deployments would have been nixed by (Washington) DC and Tokyo bureaucrats out of fear of the Chinese reaction. You can see that’s less of an issue than it was, say five years ago,” said Mr Grant Newsham, a Japan Forum for Strategic Studies research fellow and retired US Marine Corps colonel who worked alongside the Japanese military.

The US describes Iwakuni as part of the “First Island Chain”, a string of territories and bases stretching from Japan to the Philippines that hems in Chinese sea and air power and complicates its military planning.

Typhon can also fire SM-6 missiles designed to strike ships or aircraft at ranges beyond 200km.

Washington is seeking to amass such anti-ship weapons across Asia as it tries to counter China’s growing missile arsenal.

Unlike next-generation missile projects, Typhon draws on existing weapons that are easy to mass produce. That, military planners say, will make it easier for the US and its allies to catch up with China, which plans to

increase its defence budget by 7.2 per cent

in 2025.

Japan is also stepping up military spending. It is buying Tomahawk missiles for its warships and developing its own intermediate-range missiles as part of its biggest military expansion since World War II.

Adding to the regional build-up, neighbouring Taiwan in 2026 plans to

boost defence spending by a fifth

to more than 3 per cent of its gross domestic product.

“China, of course, complains whenever its intended victims stand up and start to get ready to look after themselves,” said Mr Newsham. REUTERS