February 17, 2026 at 2:52 PM
US to send more missile launchers to the Philippines despite China’s alarm
The addition of missile launchers comes as treaty allies condemned what they called China’s “illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive activities.”
Asia PacificBy Jim Gomez, The Associated Press Feb 17, 2026, 02:52 PMA Mid-Range Capability Launcher arrives in Northern Luzon, Philippines, in 2024. (Capt. Ryan DeBooy/U.S.
Army) The United States plans to deploy more high-tech missile systems to the Philippines to help deter aggression in the South China Sea, where the treaty allies on Tuesday condemned what they called China’s “illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive activities.”Beijing has repeatedly expressed alarm over the installation in the northern Philippines of a U.S. mid-range missile system called the Typhon in 2024 and of an anti-ship missile launcher last year. It said the U.S.