China has expressed “very dramatic” alarm regarding the U.S.’s recent deployment of the Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system to Northern Luzon, Philippines. They have warned such an action could potentially further destabilize the Indo-Pacific region claiming this has “brought huge risks of war” into the area. The system is land-based and ground-launched, with the ability to fire Standard Missile-6 and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile. It was brought to the Philippines for joint military drills but was not fired during the drills, according to Reuters. 

The U.S. Army has stated that the purpose of this deployment and the missile system itself is to enhance interoperability and advance “defense capabilities in coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.” 

Brig. Gen. Bernard Harrington, commanding general of the project describes it as a joint collaboration with the Philippines that solidifies the U.S.’s long-standing alliance with them: “This is a significant step in our partnership with the Philippines, our oldest treaty ally in the region. This creates several new collaboration opportunities for our bilateral training and readiness, we look forward to growing together.” 

China’s Defense Ministry Spokesperson Wu Qian stated that “The United States and Philippine practices put the entire region under the fire of the United States” in a recent press briefing. He has claimed that the deployment “seriously undermined” regional peace.

However, a Manila diplomat has stated that the missile system has only been deployed temporarily. Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo has claimed that China’s expression of concern was “very dramatic” and has stated that they “shouldn’t be worried.”

The alarm that the deployment of this missile system has caused speaks to the theory of the security dilemma, which, in short, is a vicious cycle that only enhances tensions and encourages the continual buildup of military security between competing countries. The Indo-Pacific region is already a highly contested region filled with a history of conflict and tension, and the deployment of any military weaponry or the conducting of any military drills will inevitably cause an upset in the precarious balance maintained currently. Continual military activity only serves to enhance rivalry and escalate tensions between both the U.S. and China, as a new Cold War era-like order re-establishes itself. 

The Indo-Pacific region is the site of numerous military drills conducted by China, the U.S., and both of their allies. Most recently, China and Russia have concluded joint military drills cementing the military aspect of their alliance, which until recently, has been mostly economic. This area is a strategically important front to the U.S. because of its democratic alliances in that region which have been historically threatened by China, especially Taiwan. 

The deployment of this advanced missile system to an already tense region may be a deliberate move by the U.S. to exhibit its military readiness and capability, which is extended to its alliances across the ocean as well. However, as the security dilemma necessitates, these kinds of exhibitions of military capability are a double-edged sword that will put China on edge, despite the reassurances of diplomats and the lack of actual aggression in these actions. In a uni-polar world order, the U.S. must be careful with how it displays its power and be strategic in the allocation of its military weaponry to its more vulnerable alliances. As this instance has shown, any slight show of military aggression can trigger disproportionate alarm.