Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has publicly offered to remove the US-made Typhon missile system from his country if China ceases its “aggressive and coercive behaviour” in the South China Sea.
Security experts view the proposal as a rhetorical challenge rather than a genuine attempt at negotiation, given the unlikelihood of Beijing curbing its claims over the disputed waterway.
Marcos Jnr made his pledge on Thursday during the inauguration of an airport runway in Cebu, linking China’s numerous objections to the Typhon’s presence in the Philippines to Beijing’s own missile arsenal.
