after the philippines, the united states expressed its intention to deploy the "typhon" intermediate-range missile system in japan
2024-09-11
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this article is reproduced from [global times new media];
according to a report by the japan times on september 7, the united states expressed its intention to deploy intermediate-range missile systems in japan on the grounds of holding joint military exercises. the report pointed out that the united states had deployed intermediate-range missile systems in the philippines a few months ago for the same reason.
screenshot of the japan times report
at an event in virginia, u.s. army secretary christine wormuth said earlier this week that she discussed the deployment of the u.s. army's multi-domain task force (mdtf) during her visit to japan last month. the multi-domain task force is a new unit equipped with the land-based medium-range capability (mrc), also known as the typhon medium-range missile system.
“i had a great visit to japan, a great discussion with (japanese defense) minister minoru kihara,” worms said. “you know, i think we’re obviously very interested in seeing ... the multi-domain task force ... operating in japan as part of this exercise.”
"we have made it clear to the japan self-defense forces that we are interested in this," she continued, claiming that any deployment arrangements would be "produced at the pace of the japanese government."
in april, the u.s. military deployed the typhon system, which is capable of launching tomahawk cruise missiles and standard-6 air defense missiles, in the indo-pacific region for the first time during a joint military exercise in the northern philippines. the tomahawk missile has a range of up to 1,600 kilometers and the deployment was originally scheduled to end sometime this month.
the report said this was the first time the united states had deployed land-based intermediate-range missiles overseas since former president trump's administration withdrew from the intermediate-range missile treaty in 2019. the intermediate-range missile treaty prohibits the united states and russia from developing and deploying land-based conventional and nuclear missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers.
the japan times mentioned that japan has repeatedly denied media reports in recent years that the united states may deploy similar weapons in japan. observers said that such deployments are difficult to gain the understanding of the japanese public because the deployment locations will become potential targets.
the newspaper pointed out that despite this, there are signs that the japanese government may be considering agreeing to the us deployment request. in august, lieutenant general sakai, chief of staff of the ground force command of the japan ground self-defense force, visited the lewis-mcchord joint base in washington state, the headquarters of the us multi-domain task force 1. in the photos released by the base, sakai and members of his delegation also stood in front of the typhon system.
in response to the u.s. military transporting the typhon launch system to the philippines for joint military exercises, senior colonel wu qian, director of the information bureau of the chinese ministry of national defense and spokesman for the ministry of national defense, said on may 30 that the u.s. deployed medium-range missile systems in the philippines on the pretext of exercises. this is the first time since the end of the cold war that the u.s. has deployed intermediate-range missiles overseas and in the asia-pacific region, and it is also the first time that the u.s. has deployed such weapons since it withdrew from the intermediate-range missile treaty in 2019. the u.s. and the philippines' actions put the entire region under u.s. fire, brought huge risks of war into the region, severely impacted the regional security structure, and seriously undermined regional peace and stability. china is highly vigilant and firmly opposes this.
