14 hours ago
4
Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star
March 26, 2025 | 12:00am
‘The more, the merrier’
MANILA, Philippines — The United States is preparing to deploy another Typhon Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system in the Philippines, military spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said yesterday.
“This is a welcome development for the Armed Forces of the Philippines. We can say that the more, the merrier,” Padilla told reporters.
“So the more assets we have, the more also that we are able to train more personnel on our part. So tinatanggap po natin (we’re accepting them) willingly,” Padilla said.
She noted that the report on the deployment came from the US Indo-Pacific Command.
“If you are to focus on the training capacity of our personnel, the more equipment, the better. If indeed these particular advanced weapon systems or platforms reach us, it is a welcome development for us to further train our personnel on such weapon systems,” Padilla said.
Asked about China’s possible reaction, Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad stressed that “the defense posture of the Republic of the Philippines is not designed against any other country.”
Beijing earlier lashed out at the Philippines for allowing the deployment of the US Typhon missile system in the country during the previous Balikatan exercises.
“It is an action of a sovereign state. In the region, we have been abiding by the rules-based international order. We have been supportive of the rules-based international order. We have been abiding by international law. Other countries, especially the Chinese Communist Party, has not been abiding by international law. They have been disrupting the region,” Trinidad pointed out.
Padilla also said the upcoming visit of US defense chief Pete Hegseth is a reaffirmation of his country’s ironclad security commitment to the Philippines.
“The visit reaffirms what our long-time ally the US has been saying – that their commitment to supporting us and strengthening our alliance with them is ironclad,” she said.
She said the visit comes as the militaries of both countries are preparing for this year’s Balikatan Exercises.
“So, we look at this as an opportunity, this Balikatan Exercise, which is going to be one of the biggest again, to have more activities and more exercises on live fire exercises and different activities as well,” she added.
She said the joint exercises have strengthened interoperability between the two countries’ armed forces.
“So we can see that with this upcoming Balikatan, there are more countries also trying to join the bandwagon. This is actually a step in the right direction for us,” she said.
Hegseth is expected to arrive in Manila on Friday to meet with President Marcos, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. and other top executive and military officials.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced earlier that Hegseth is set to visit Hawaii to meet civilian and military leaders in the Indo-Pacific Command, then tour US military facilities in Guam before flying to the Philippines and Japan.
Rubio also arriving
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also visit Manila, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said yesterday.
Romualdez said the visit will be part of Rubio’s trip to Southeast Asia next month. The specific date is not yet known.
Meanwhile, Malacañang said the Philippines may forge more visiting forces agreements with other countries following President Marcos’ approval of the start of talks on a similar accord with France.
“The VFA could raise the level of compatibility in terms of or in relation to the operations of the armed forces of both countries. Of course, there will be an exchange of ideas, exchange of skills, exchange of know-how about military operations,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said at a briefing yesterday.
“Yes, it has been approved,” she said of the start of VFA negotiations with France. — Pia Lee-Brago, Silvia Massa
