US-made Typhon missiles to bolster security, deter ‘repressive’ China: Philippine Defence Secretary 

MANILA – Manila’s planned acquisition of US-made Typhon missile launchers will stabilise regional security and also deter China’s assertive actions, Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr said, as he defended the weapons system that has drawn China’s ire.

Calling the move by Manila to bolster its military capabilities an “internal matter”, Mr Teodoro also took a swipe at Beijing, which has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of the missile launchers from the Philippines.

“(The Typhon missile system) will stabilise regional security. But more importantly, it will deter any malign entity like the Chinese Communist Party from threatening our territorial integrity and sovereignty,” he told The Straits Times in an exclusive interview on Feb 13.

“We have more right as a democratic country – open and transparent, of course, with operational security – to manage greater military capabilities than a closed, paranoid and repressive China,” he added.

The Chinese government and state media have accused Manila of being a pawn of Washington after the American mid-range missile system was first deployed to the northern Philippine province of Ilocos Norte in April 2024 for an annual joint exercise with the US.

The Typhon, capable of firing missiles to China’s eastern coast, has since remained in the Philippines, which later confirmed in December 2024 that it

plans to purchase the weapons system.

This has angered China, which demanded that the Philippines remove the Typhon missile system as it damages peace and stability in the region.

“The Philippines has worked with the US to bring in the Typhon system. It’s placing its national security and defence in the hands of others and introducing geopolitical confrontation and risk of arms race into the region, which does no one good,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun at a press conference on Feb 11.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has already rejected China’s demands, saying in late January that Manila would remove the Typhon system only if Beijing stops its “coercive behaviour” in the disputed South China Sea.

This was echoed by Mr Teodoro on Feb 13, saying the Philippines is well within its rights to acquire military assets that could bolster its security interests.

“They’re talking about our internal matters so… what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. I think the world would rather see an open and accountable government that complies with international law to have the means to defend itself against a closed, subversive and insidious party that controls billions of people,” said Mr Teodoro.

The Philippines’ geographical location makes it a strategic ally for both the US and China, two superpowers that are now competing for influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

But Manila also has competing claims with Beijing over the disputed South China Sea. An international tribunal ruled in 2016 to reject China’s expansive claim over almost the entire sea, but Beijing

has refused to recognise the ruling.

China has instead ramped up its assertive activities in the South China Sea, shadowing and firing water cannon at Philippine vessels within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

Parts of the strategic waterway are also being claimed by other South-east Asian countries like Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as Taiwan, but the Philippines has been among the most vocal in the region in confronting Beijing.

Asean has long struggled to adopt a unified stance on the maritime dispute due to member states’ diverse interests and relations with China. But negotiations are ongoing between the regional grouping and China on drafting a code of conduct on the South China Sea.

“Although there are no official statements from them (Asean) and only from us because we are the objects of momentum by China right now, there is concern (over Beijing’s actions). And I believe that there is work towards getting an Asean consensus,” Mr Teodoro said.

‘Enhanced’ U.S.-Philippine ties under Trump

As China continues to increase its military aggression in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, the Philippines has been exploring deeper defence cooperation with the US and other allies that have backed its claims in the maritime dispute.

Under the Marcos government, the Philippines has widened US access to key Filipino military bases, including sites directly facing the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.

The previous Biden administration committed in July 2024

to give Manila US$500 million (S$670 million) to boost Manila’s military capabilities,

as the South-east Asian country defends its claims against a more aggressive Beijing.

But concerns have been raised about the future of the Manila-Washington alliance after incumbent US President Donald Trump recently announced a

90-day freeze on its foreign assistance programmes.

Mr Teodoro, however, believes bilateral ties will grow only stronger.

He flew to the US to meet National Security Adviser Mike Waltz just three days after

Mr Trump’s inauguration

and has spoken on the phone with his American counterpart Pete Hegseth. Mr Teodoro said both US officials reaffirmed the “enduring” US-Philippine alliance.

“I’m not apprehensive at all. I think they (US-Philippine relations) will be enhanced because of the fact that they see the value proposition of having the Philippines and other allies upholding international law in this part of the world,” Mr Teodoro said.

Clampdown on suspected spies

Tensions between Manila and Beijing, meanwhile, grew in January after the Philippine government arrested six Chinese nationals accused of conducting espionage activities.

The Philippine authorities say they mapped the activities of their navy and coast guard. That included routine resupply missions to troops stationed at a remote military outpost in Second Thomas Shoal, a flashpoint in the South China Sea dispute.

Mr Teodoro assured Filipinos that the government is clamping down on foreign intelligence threats, saying it has been “unrelenting” in uncovering suspected spies and syndicated criminal activity linked to China.

In 2024, Mr Marcos

banned the controversial online casino industry,

also called Philippine offshore gaming operators, after it was repeatedly linked to Chinese crime syndicates operating in the country.

“We have increased our overwatch over these activities and we continue to decipher what information they have gathered,” said Mr Teodoro, as he credited the suspects’ presence in the Philippines to China’s 2017 intelligence law that mandates citizens to closely cooperate with the Ministry of State Security. China has denied the espionage accusations.

Mr Teodoro and other Philippine security officials have since pushed Congress to give more teeth to the country’s outdated anti-espionage laws.

“We really need to ramp up the legal framework for prosecuting these people. Because at the end of the day, we are in a government of laws and these people have to be prosecuted,” he said.