Philippine troops watch as a Javelin missile hits a target at sea during U.S.-Philippines joint military exercises in Laoag, Ilocos Norte province, Philippines.

China rebuked anew the presence of a U.S. Typhon missile system in the Philippines, the latest in a series of verbal rows between Manila and Beijing over the deployment of the medium-range weapon in the Philippines.

Chinese defense spokesperson Senior Colonel Wu Qian reiterated in a press conference in Beijing last week that the deployment had “intensified geopolitical confrontation and escalated tensions in the region,” as he renewed calls for its withdrawal from Philippine shores.

Since April, the missile system has stayed in one of the military bases in the country’s north after annual joint military drills between the Philippines and the U.S. culminated as part of a long-held tradition as treaty allies.

In August, Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner told reporters he would prefer the mid-range missile systems to stay in the country permanently to bolster deterrence.

This comes after Chinese Coast Guard personnel armed with axes and knives attacked a contingent of Philippine coast guard and Navy vessels in June while on a monthly resupply mission to a naval outpost in Second Thomas Shoal. A Philippine Navy sailor lost a thumb during the confrontation.

Following this incident, Manila and Beijing reached a “provisional agreement” on July 21 which allows Philippine vessels to deliver supplies to Filipino troops in the outpost.

China voiced concerns over the ongoing deployment of the missile system here in Sept. 19 after defense secretary Gilberto Teodoro told reporters that the department has plans to acquire “similar capabilities” to the Typhon system.

The Philippines has an ongoing bid to buy High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) rocket launchers from American firm Lockheed Martin as part of its three-phase modernization buildup.

While the HIMARS acquisition has yet to be cleared by the U.S. State Department, the military here has nonetheless continued to beef up its missile arsenal.

The Philippines received its first set of BrahMos hypersonic anti-ship cruise missiles in April and last month placed orders for testing 12 AT-1K Raybolt anti-tank missiles from South Korea’s LIGNex1 to be delivered in 2025.

Future frigates, corvettes, and patrol vessels will also arrive fitted with weapon systems upon delivery, the military said.

Acquiring more varieties of missiles for different platforms is a logical follow-up after expanding the country’s radar network for spotting threats, according to Benjamin Blandin, an associate researcher for the Sealight Project of the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation of Stanford University.

“The Philippines is creating naval and air radar bubbles so to speak—a network,” Blandin told Defense News. “The Philippines is building both a coast and air shield. Now with this kind of capacity for radars, it makes sense for the Philippines to acquire missiles because it goes in pairs, it needs to go side-by-side,” he explained.

Since 2017, the Philippines has received radars capable of detecting fighter jets, ballistic missiles and vessels, with technology hailing from Japan, the United States, Germany, and Canada. This year, Manila received the last set of SPYDER air defense systems from Israel’s Rafael Systems.

Infrastructure upgrades on bases here have enabled the military to house and maintain missiles in compliance with NATO standards.

“Now is the right moment for the Philippines to start developing an expertise and a mastery in the acquisition, use, and maintenance of missiles,” Blandin said, adding that the acquisitions would give the Philippines a more credible defense posture.

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Philippines, China trade accusations over confrontation in South China Sea

Philippine and Chinese coastguards reported conflicting versions of a maritime confrontation around a contested shoal in the South China Sea, the latest row in a longstanding dispute between the two neighbours.

China's Coast Guard said four Philippine ships had attempted to enter China's territorial waters around the Scarborough Shoal.

Philippine ships had "dangerously approached" China Coast Guard "normal law enforcement patrol vessels", prompting China's "exercised control" over their counterparts, Liu Dejun, a coast guard spokesperson, said in a statement.

But the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Chinese navy and coastguard vessels had taken "aggressive actions" against a routine patrol by it and the fisheries bureau.

A Chinese coastguard vessel fired a water cannon and sideswiped a PCG vessel, while Philippine vessels faced "blocking, shadowing, and dangerous manoeuvres" from Chinese navy and coastguard ships, a PCG spokesperson said.

The incident follows a diplomatic spat in November after China drew baseline "territorial waters" around the shoal, which Beijing claims as Huangyan Island. Manila and Beijing have sparred at sea this past year, including at the Scarborough Shoal, a prime fishing patch.

Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, including the Scarborough Shoal, which has angered neighbouring countries that dispute some boundaries they say cut into their exclusive economic zones.

China rejects a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that Beijing's expansive claims have no basis under international law.

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Fresh tensions as Russian attack submarine shadowed in waters off Philippines

Tensions between Russia and the Philippines escalated as the Philippine military deployed a navy ship and air force planes to shadow a Russian submarine in the South China Sea last week, security officials said.

Philippine Navy spokesperson Roy Vincent Trinidad said a Russian Kilo-class submarine was sighted 80 nautical miles off the western province of Occidental Mindoro on 28 November, with the waters considered to be a part of Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

It was first contacted in response to a Philippine Navy’s two-way radio inquiry when it was spotted in Manila’s waters. The officials aboard the submarine said it was en route home to the Russian eastern city of Vladivostok after participating in a joint exercise with the Malaysian Navy, Jonathan Malaya, assistant director-general of the National Security Council, said.

Manila downplayed the presence of the Russian submarine in international waters, granting it the status of other foreign ships who have the right of “innocent passage”.

However, tensions surged again when the submarine was spotted about 80 nautical miles (148km) off the Philippine province of Mindoro, Mr Malaya said.

The submarine was sighted after it surfaced due to weather-related conditions, he said.

Philippine Navy frigate Jose Rizal established radio contact with the Russian submarine, which confirmed its identity as UFA 490 and its intent.

“The Russian vessel stated it was awaiting improved weather conditions before proceeding to Vladivostok, Russia,” Mr Trinidad said, without elaborating on why it was in the area.

"All of that is very concerning," president Ferdinand Marcos Jr said when asked about the submarine. "Any intrusion into the West Philippine Sea, of our EEZ, of our baselines is very worrisome. So, yes, it’s just another one."

The leader referred to the South China Sea by using its Filipino name where his country, along with Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and other coastal states have faced an increasingly aggressive China, which claims the busy waterway virtually in its entirety.

On Monday, the Philippines coast guard said that a Chinese military helicopter flew close to fishing boats manned by Filipinos in a "dangerous act of harassment" last week at Iroquois Reef, a disputed fishing area in the South China Sea.

Two Philippine coast guard patrol ships have been deployed to the area to protect Filipino fishermen, coast guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said.

There was no immediate comment from Chinese officials.

The South China Sea is seeing an increasing spike in territorial confrontations, particularly between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and naval forces, starting last year has prompted closer surveillance by the United States and other Western governments of the key global trade route.

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