The U.S. missile launcher that is enraging China

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A new U.S. missile system deployed in the Philippines puts key Chinese military and commercial hubs within striking distance and hands President Trump an early test of his commitment to deterring Chinese aggression against American allies in Asia.

Last year, the U.S. Army moved the Typhon Missile System, which can fire missiles as far as 1,200 miles, to a base on Luzon Island in the northern Philippines. It is the first time since the Cold War that the U.S.

military has deployed a land-based launching system with such a long range outside its borders. The Typhon, military experts say, is part of a broader strategic repositioning by the American military as it seeks to counter Beijing’s huge buildup of intermediate- and long-range missiles in the Pacific. In the event of a conflict with China, land-based missile systems such as the Typhon could be central to defending key U.S.

allies such as the Philippines, which has clashed with China over Beijing’s claims to nearly all of the South China Sea, and Taiwan, which Beijing has threatened to take, by force if necessary. The Chinese government has responded to the Typhon’s deployment with alarm, rebuking the U.S. and the Philippines for fueling what it called an arms race.

Now, the Typhon, which was moved to the Philippines during the Biden administration, has emerged as an important litmus test amid concerns among American allies over the Trump administration’s willingness to come to their defense in a conflict with China. A visit to the Philippines and Japan by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week could provide more clarity on the administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy. The Typhon can fire two types of missiles.