The US is to deploy newly developed missiles to the Indo-Pacific region this year with additional types planned for later, a top US commander told a news conference at the US embassy in Tokyo on Wednesday.
“I am not going to discuss what system and I am not going to say where and when,” General Charles A. Flynn, commander of the US Army Pacific, was quoted by Stars and Stripes as saying at the event. “I am just saying there will be a long-range precision fire capability.”
Deployment of land-based medium-range missiles that are capable of being armed with nuclear warheads in the region would be a first for Washington since it suspended the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019.
Photo: AFP / US Army
Previously, Flynn told reporters at the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada that the US would deploy a limited number of Tomahawk missiles and Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) to the region, Defense One said in a report on Nov. 19 last year.
The US Army’s new land-based Tomahawk cruise missiles have a range of more than 2,400km and can be utilized to strike ground and sea targets.
In Tokyo, Flynn was cited as mentioning the Typhoon launcher, a system being developed for the two missile types, saying that it would have a “hypersonic capability.”
“I am not going to say where or when we will deploy in 2024,” Flynn said. “There are actually multiple systems in development.”
He also spoke about the Precision Strike Missile, a long-range anti-ship weapon expected to reach initial operational capabilities by the end of the year.
According to Lockheed Martin, the missile can engage targets at ranges beyond 499km.
Washington does not deem it necessary to sign new agreements with other countries to deploy medium-range missiles, Flynn said, adding that the US Army already deploys High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems in the region.
Separately, the Financial Times reported on Thursday that Tokyo and Manila have discussed deploying Japan Self-Defense Forces in the Philippines as the countries verge on several security pacts aimed at augmenting the region’s defense against China.
Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez was cited as saying that Manila and Tokyo were close to inking a “reciprocal access agreement,” which would allow their militaries to train and conduct drills on each other’s territory.
The two countries additionally made plans to deploy troops on a rotation, similar to the arrangement that enabled the US to maintain a continuous presence in the Philippines, despite the latter’s constitutional prohibition against permanent basing of foreign troops, he said.
Japan and the Philippines are anticipated to ink the reciprocal access agreement shortly after their heads of state attend a trilateral meeting hosted by US President Joe Biden, he said.
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