US missile deployment in Philippines tests Trump’s China strategy and alarms Beijing

US typhoon missile deployment in Philippines

The deployment of a powerful new US missile system in the Philippines is raising tensions with China, unsettling regional allies, and placing President Trump’s Indo-Pacific strategy under early scrutiny, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Typhon Missile System, capable of launching Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles from mobile ground launchers, marks the first land-based American missile platform with this range to be stationed overseas since the Cold War.

Strategically positioned on Luzon Island, just 300 miles from Taiwan, the Typhon can strike targets as far as 1,200 miles away — putting major Chinese military and economic centres within reach. It has quickly become a symbol of the growing US-China military standoff and a key test of whether the Trump administration is committed to defending allies like the Philippines and Taiwan against potential Chinese aggression.

An escalation flashpoint with Beijing

Beijing has condemned the deployment, accusing Washington and Manila of fuelling an arms race and warning of potential retaliation. China’s Foreign Ministry said it would not “sit idly by” if its security interests were threatened, while Russia compared the move to Cold War-era missile brinkmanship.

Despite arriving under the Biden administration, the Typhon now poses a political and military dilemma for President Trump, whose Asia policy has vacillated between confrontation and accommodation. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s visit to the region this week may offer clues on whether the administration intends to reinforce or roll back US military presence in Asia.

A strategic shift in posture

The Typhon system’s mobility — mounted on trucks and deployable by air — makes it difficult to track and destroy, unlike large, fixed military bases. It’s part of a broader Pentagon strategy to build a more dispersed, resilient missile network across the Indo-Pacific in response to China’s vast arsenal of intermediate-range missiles, which are not bound by the now-defunct INF Treaty.

“The US is shifting away from a reliance on big centralised bases, towards a more dispersed resilient force posture,” said Shawn Rostker of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

Though the Typhon battery in Luzon currently lacks missiles, it is already being viewed as a game-changer. The Philippines has expressed interest in acquiring the system itself, and Filipino troops are now training to operate it.

Potential bargaining chip — or liability

While US officials have praised the system’s deterrent value, others fear its presence could become a bargaining chip in high-level negotiations. Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has said he would consider removing the Typhon if China backs down from aggressive actions in the South China Sea.

There are also fears in Manila that the system could be sacrificed in a deal between Trump and Xi Jinping, especially after Trump’s controversial diplomacy with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine. “What the Philippines does with [the Typhon] and what the Trump administration will do about it determines how the game of deterrence will play out,” said political analyst Richard Heydarian.

Risk of miscalculation and conflict

Some analysts warn that even without being fired, the Typhon’s presence risks fueling miscalculation. Jennifer Kavanagh of Defense Priorities said the system increases the likelihood of escalation between two nuclear-armed powers, especially if it’s used in a crisis.

Trump administration officials remain divided. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll called the Typhon’s deployment a strategic success, while Andrew Byers, the deputy assistant secretary for South and Southeast Asia, has supported a more conciliatory approach, including previous suggestions to remove US assets in exchange for reduced Chinese patrols.

As Trump charts his course in the Indo-Pacific, how he handles the Typhon deployment — whether he reinforces it, uses it as leverage, or offers it up in negotiations — will shape America’s regional posture for years to come.