China has summoned the Philippine ambassador amid ongoing tensions with the Southeast Asian country, including the deployment of ship-killer missiles to an island facing Beijing-claimed Taiwan.
Newsweek contacted the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs for comment via emailed outside standard office hours.
Why It Matters
Manila, Washington's oldest ally in Asia, is locked in a territorial dispute with Beijing. China claims upwards of 90 percent of the South China Sea as its territory, including areas within the Philippine maritime zone, despite a 2016 international arbitral tribunal ruling that dismissed these claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The U.S. deployed the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) to the Philippines on Saturday as part of the U.S.-Philippine annual Balikatan exercises, the U.S. Marine Corps announced on Sunday.
What To Know
Liu Jinsong, the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Asian Affairs, on Thursday summoned Jaime FlorCruz, Manila's envoy to Beijing, to lodge "serious representations on a series of recent negative developments in Taiwan-related and security fields by the Philippine side," the ministry said in a statement.
It was an apparent reference to the NMESIS, which was positioned on Batan Island—one of the northernmost Philippine islands. It sits in the strategic Luzon Strait, a waterway separating the Southeast Asian country from Taiwan.
While the U.S. has said NMESIS will be used in simulated not live-fire drills, the deployment has drawn strong condemnation from Beijing.
Last week, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun denounced the Balikatan drills and the deployment of "strategic and tactical weapons" as destabilizing the region. He also warned "those who would play with fire" regarding the Taiwan issue.
The strait is considered a key choke point for U.S.-led forces in the event of a conflict with China, such as over Taiwan—the self-ruled island Beijing has pledged to bring under its control and around which it has ramped up military activity in recent years.
Following large-scale Chinese military drills simulating a blockade of Taiwan earlier this month, Philippine Defense Secretary Romeo Brawner said his country must "start planning" for a potential invasion. "Because if something happens to Taiwan, inevitably we will be involved," he added.
What People Are Saying
U.S. Marine Lieutenant General Michael Cederholm told reporters, per the Philippine Daily Inquirer: "The introduction of NMESIS into the first island chain for sea denial, sea control is another step in our force design journey. … We're not here practicing a war plan. We're practicing for the defense of the Philippines."
Zhang Xiaogang, the Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson, told reporters on Thursday: "[The Philippines] frequently conducts the so-called joint patrols and exercises, and invites and deploys strategic and tactical weapons, which seriously undermines the common interests of regional countries. We firmly oppose any country strengthening military deployment in the region and provoking tensions and confrontation under the excuse of the Taiwan question."
What Happens Next
Cederholm would not confirm whether the U.S. would withdraw the NMESIS system after the Balikatan drills end on May 10, saying the U.S. doesn't "broadcast" its deployments or redeployments. "All I'll say is we're here at the invitation and with the support of the Philippine government," he added.
Another missile system, the U.S. Army's Mid-Range Capability launcher—known as the Typhon—was also deployed in the lead-up to last year's Balikatan and remains in the Philippines, despite initial assurances by Manila that it would be removed after the drills.
The issue has become another point of friction with China, which has accused the Philippines of going back on its word.
