China is having a fit because the U.S. military has stationed its mid-range Typhon missile system in the Philippines indefinitely. Beijing and Moscow have argued that the U.S. military is the greatest destabilizing force in the world, and Beijing says the presence of these missiles in the Philippines proves it. 

Left unsaid by Beijing, of course, is that the Americans have chosen to maintain this system in the Philippines due to Chinese military aggression directed against the Philippines in the South China Sea. 

China’s aggression goes back to 2009-2010, when Beijing decided to illegally construct a series of manmade islands in international waters and waters claimed by other Asian states, and to heavily fortify these islands.

The Strategic Situation 

From those islands, China has harassed international shipping passing through the region. Beijing’s forces have created illegal air defense identification zones in what should be international airspace as part of its bid to force the world to accept that the South China Sea is exclusive Chinese territory. 

To further prove China’s case is illegitimate, an international arbitration court has determined that China’s operations in the South China Sea are entirely illegal. 

But the Chinese have remained in place. In fact, they’ve increased their belligerence. They want to show the world there will be no dislodging the Chinese from these regions, and that the United States is unwilling to stop them. After a decade of provocation, the Americans have finally decided to stand firm against Chinese aggression. 

And why does China covet the South China Sea?

Sure, they want to claim it for pride. And they desire control over the vast untapped natural resources of natural gas and oil that lie beneath the seabed. More than that, though, the South China Sea is a vital linkage to Taiwan. 

If China can dominate that region, they can effectively choke off the maritime passes into Taiwan as part of a larger strategy to blockade the island. 

By placing the Typhon mid-range missile system in the Philippines, the United States is not only standing with their Philippine allies. They are also further complicating China’s efforts to dominate the maritime passes into Taiwan. Should China achieve their goal of capturing waterways such as the South and East China Seas, they can work to keep the Americans back during any Chinese military blockade or invasion. 

Typhon Missile: Is It Enough? 

Washington is right to deploy this system and keep it in place in the Philippines. But given how important dominating the South China Sea is for China, and how badly stretched the U.S. military is today, is the presence of this Typhon missile system enough to deter China?

Likely not. 

The Americans need to figure out an actual strategy for countering China’s growing chokehold of the South China Sea. Keeping the Typhon system in place is a start. But it is only a start.