Speaking with reporters in Jakarta on Friday, China’s vice minister of foreign affairs Sun Weidong said he “clearly conveyed China’s serious concerns” during a meeting between senior officials from China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Sun said the deployment posed a “serious threat to the security of the countries of the region and would seriously undermine regional peace and stability,” according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.
“China firmly opposes the recurrence of cold war-style confrontation in the region and the use of regional countries as tools and agents of hegemony,” Sun said, while reaffirming Beijing’s support for Asean’s strategic autonomy.
02:33
US and Philippines conduct annual Balikatan drills amid rising tensions with China
US and Philippines conduct annual Balikatan drills amid rising tensions with China
Sun’s remarks came at a time Beijing is facing a growing challenge from the US and its allies, including the Philippines, in the region.
Four of the 10 member states of Asean – Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and the Philippines – have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.
Earlier on Friday, the Philippines wrapped up a three-week annual training exercise with the US that involved 16,000 troops from the two countries as well as personnel from France and Australia.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said the troops had “trained shoulder to shoulder at locations throughout the Philippines to increase proficiency in maritime security, amphibious operations, combined arms, aviation operations, and information and cyberspace operations”.
Beijing was deeply frustrated when the Philippines agreed to open four more military bases to its long-term ally in April last year.
The deployment of the Typhon weapons system during the exercise is the first time such weapons have been stationed in the Indo-Pacific since the US pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019.
The agreement, ratified by the US and Soviet Union in June 1988, banned both countries from developing and fielding ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500km.
Significantly, from Beijing’s point of view, the Philippines forms part of the first island chain, which divides mainland Asia from the Pacific and could be used by the US as the first line of defence to contain China militarily.
Composed of four launchers, the Typhon is capable of launching SM-6 missiles that can hit targets at a distance of up to 370km and cruise missiles that can carry conventional or nuclear warheads and have a range of up to 2,500km, according to Washington think tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
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Why is the Philippines aligning itself with the US after years of close China ties under Duterte
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According to the Chinese foreign ministry, Sun had an “in-depth exchange of views on international and regional issues of common concern” with his Southeast Asian counterparts and the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation on mine clearance, combating telecommunications fraud and illegal internet gambling “to create a more stable and secure regional environment”.
Asean is now China’s largest trading partner and Sun also said the two sides aimed to wrap up negotiations on upgrading their free-trade agreement.