Philippine-United States military exercises are longstanding, “purely defensive” and intended to maintain force readiness and preserve regional security, a U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed in February 2025.
The spokesperson responded in an email to a request for comment after the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) defense ministry urged Manila to withdraw U.S. Typhon intermediate-range missiles.
The Typhon launchers, part of a U.S. drive to amass an arsenal of anti-ship weapons in the Indo-Pacific, can fire multipurpose missiles up to thousands of kilometers.
Temporary deployments of U.S. missile capabilities in the Philippines are a response to growing threats, intended to maintain force readiness and preserve regional security and stability for all, the spokesperson said.
“These U.S. systems are designed to be conventionally armed and are not designed to employ nuclear payloads,” the spokesperson said.
The CCP has deployed ballistic medium and intermediate-range missiles that can cover up to 3,000 kilometers or 5,000 kilometers including dual-capable ones for nuclear and conventional use and is developing and deploying more such systems, the spokesperson said.