Ministry urges removal of US missile system

A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson on Thursday urged the United States and the Philippines to withdraw a missile system developed by the US "immediately" from the Southeast Asian country.

Wu Qian, the ministry's spokesman, made the remarks in a news conference in Beijing in response to recent comments by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr regarding the system.

According to local media in the Philippines, Teodoro said in November that the Philippines was seriously considering purchasing a Typhoon mid-range missile system from the US. In addition, the US has deployed the system in the Philippines under the pretext of conducting exercises earlier this year.

Wu said China has repeatedly expressed its firm opposition to the US' deployment of the missile system in the Philippines. He said the system is an offensive weapon, and that by accepting the deployment of the system, the Philippines has intensified geopolitical confrontation and escalated tensions in the region.

"It is by no means a matter of the Philippines side itself, but hinges on the common security of regional countries," Wu noted.

"History and reality have repeatedly proven that where US weapons are deployed, there will be higher risk of conflicts, inflicting undeserved suffering on the local people," he said.

The spokesman noted that the Asia-Pacific is a grand stage for peace and development, not a wrestling ground for geopolitical rivalry.

"We urge the relevant parties to withdraw the Typhoon mid-range missile system immediately," Wu said.

"If the US and the Philippines insist on heading down the wrong path, the Chinese side will take resolute countermeasures," he warned.

The spokesman also refuted recent remarks made by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who claimed that the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty applies to armed conflicts in the South China Sea.

Wu emphasized that the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty is a product of the Cold War era, and the US has no right to use it to intervene in maritime disputes between China and the Philippines.

"US-Philippines military cooperation must not harm China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea," he said.

"From Ren'ai Reef to Xianbin Reef, the root cause of the escalating maritime disputes between China and the Philippines lies in the Philippines' violation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, breaking its own commitments, frequently making provocations at sea, infringing on China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and attempting to draw in external forces to back them up," Wu said.