BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry on Thursday urged the Philippines to return to “peaceful development”, saying Manila’s decision to deploy a U.S. medium-range missile system in military exercises would only bring the risks of an arms race in the region.
The U.S. Typhon system, which can be equipped with cruise missiles capable of striking Chinese targets, was brought in for joint exercises earlier this year. On Tuesday, the Philippine defence minister said its deployment was justified.
China will never sit idly by if its security interests were to be threatened, Mao Ning, a spokesperson at the foreign ministry, said at a regular news conference.
The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Ethan Wang; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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