West Philippine Sea: Brawner wants US missiles to stay in PH ‘forever’

General Romeo Brawner Jr., Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (CSAFP). FILE PHOTO/AFP FB PAGE

MANILA, Philippines — For Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr., the United States’ Typhon midrange capability (MRC) missile should stay in the country permanently.

Brawner made the remark on Wednesday as the Army announced the extended stay of the ground-based missile system, which is capable of firing Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles, amid mounting tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

“If I were given a choice, I would like to have the Typhons here in the Philippines forever,” Brawner said in an ambush interview in Pasay City.

READ: West Philippine Sea: Teodoro defends US missile’s extended stay in PH

Brawner noted that he already expressed this sentiment “informally” during the meeting of Manila and Washington’s Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB).

The MDB-SEB forms the framework that directs and enables defense and security cooperation between the two countries’ militaries under their Mutual Defense Treaty.

“We mentioned our intention that, if possible, Typhons remain here in the Philippines,” Brawner said.

He reiterated his hopes that the country would soon have its own MRC to complement the AFP’s BrahMos, a medium-range supersonic cruise missile that has a range of 290 to 400 kilometers that could travel at Mach 2.8, or about three times faster than the speed of sound.

READ: Brawner: AFP wants US-made Typhon midrange capability missile

The MRC arrived in the country from the United States on April 11 and was first used during its bilateral war games with the country.

The Philippine Army said the MRC was also used for the bilateral Army drills between Manila and Washington, which was already finished on Sept. 22.

READ: Army spox: US missile system to be removed from PH by Sept

However, Army spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala said the MRC will stay in the country until further notice as both countries conduct evaluations if it will be used in future drills.

Recently, China’s Defense Minister Qu Qian said Manila and Washington “brought huge risks of war into the region” with the deployment of the missile launcher in the country.

However, Brawner shrugged off China’s objection, saying the AFP only had the Philippines’ interests in mind.

“We are building our defenses, whether it is Typhoon, whether it is BrahMos, whether it is other missile systems that we need for our defenses,” Brawner said, partly in Filipino.

“Did we object when they put missile defenses in their islands? So, they should not interfere with ours, because it’s all for our interests; we’re building our defenses,” he said.