China urges ‘peaceful development,’ criticizes US missiles in PH

China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning attends a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing on January 15, 2024. (Photo by Pedro Pardo / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — China’s foreign ministry on Thursday called on the Philippines to focus on “peaceful development,” warning that deploying a US medium-range missile system during military exercises could fuel an arms race in the region.

The US Typhon system, capable of carrying cruise missiles to hit Chinese targets, was brought to the Philippines for joint drills earlier this year.

READ: PH to acquire US Typhon mid-range missile system – AFP

On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said its deployment was justified. In response, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said Teodoro was contradicting President Marcos’ directive to ease tensions in the South China Sea through dialogue. It also took exception to his accusation that the Communist Party of China was interfering in Philippine affairs.

Mao Ning, a spokesperson at the foreign ministry, said at a regular news conference on Thursday that China would never sit idly by if its security interests were to be threatened.

The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

A House lawmaker, meanwhile, said that China has “no business nor moral ascendancy” to meddle in the country’s plans to upgrade its military capabilities, including if it wants to buy midrange missiles and other armaments from the United States.

Bullying

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers also accused China of “acting [out] to the max with bullying tactics” after it called the deployment of the Typhon missile system a “provocative and dangerous move.”

“China has been meddling too much already in the affairs of our country,” said the lawmaker, who chairs the House committee on dangerous drugs. “The Filipino people should unite to stop and counter their selfish motives in our country, especially when it comes to the West Philippine Sea.”

“What business is it of the Communist Party of China if the United States wants to bring in the missile system for joint exercises?” Barbers said. “We don’t even question them when they hold joint military exercises with Russia.”

Army chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido earlier announced that the Philippines would be acquiring a midrange capability missile system, though not necessarily the Typhon, “for the interest of protecting our sovereignty.”