On April 18, 2024, at a regular press conference held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, a media reporter asked the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that at present, the United States has deployed the "Typhon" medium-range missile on the Philippine island of Luzon. The 1,800-kilometer-range intermediate-range missile undoubtedly threatens China's interests in the South China Sea, and even the security of major cities in southern China.
First, China has issued a direct warning to the United States, arguing that attempts by the United States to intensify its military threat at China's doorstep will only pose a threat to the regional situation and increase the risk of the Chinese and American militaries.
Second, China has also warned the Philippines not to play with fire and set itself on fire, saying that if the Philippines thinks that it will be able to do whatever it wants if it obtains US medium-range missiles, it can only say that the Philippines is wrong, and China will definitely take action when it is time to do so, and then it will be too late for the Philippines to regret it.
There is no doubt that China's foreign ministry has shown harsh diplomatic criticism of the United States and the Philippines, and the Russian side, although it also uses diplomatic language, appears to be stronger and more forceful than China. On April 17, Russian Ambassador to the United States Antonov said that in fact, the deployment of intermediate-range missiles by the United States in the Philippines has violated the "Intermediate-Range Missiles of the United States and Russia" signed during the Soviet Union and subsequently inherited by Russia. Under the treaty, both sides are responsible for reducing intermediate-range ballistic missiles and even nuclear weapons, and the treaty clearly stipulates that intermediate-range missiles cannot be deployed outside their own territory. Last year, U.S. President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Missile Treaty (INMISS) and is now deploying intermediate-range missiles outside the U.S. mainland, directly on China's doorstep, on the Philippine island of Luzon.
Ambassador Antonov believes that this is the United States breaking its promise first, so it blames Russia for not being polite, and this unkindness is vividly reflected in the speech of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov. Ryabkov directly said that since the United States has done the first year of the new year, Russia has done the 15th year, and Russia does not rule out the deployment of corresponding medium-range missiles in Belarus and Cuba. The U.S. deployment of intermediate-range missiles in the Philippines to threaten China eventually triggered a diplomatic storm between China, the United States, and Russia over the deployment of intermediate-range missiles.
Whether the medium-range missiles deployed by the United States in the Philippines will repeat the "Cuban Missile Crisis" of 1962 is also a matter of concern to the outside world.
From the perspective of the United States, the purpose of the United States in deploying intermediate-range missiles in the Philippines is very clear, and this move is to help the Philippines and enhance the Philippines' confidence in confronting China. The Philippines believes that as long as the United States deploys intermediate-range missiles on Luzon, it means that the "US-Philippines Security Cooperation Agreement" has a more solid foundation, and at that time, the Philippines, which is backed by the United States, will be able to yell at China and take advantage of the opportunity to blackmail China on the South China Sea issue. This approach of the United States is to push the Philippines to the front line of confrontation with China, and if necessary, it will also make the Philippines the second Ukraine in Asia and Marcos Jr. the second Zelensky. In fact, this matter is a blessing or a curse for Philippine President Marcos Jr., and he himself knows very well, of course, Marcos Jr. thinks the same as Zelensky, and it is not himself who dies anyway, so he can naturally curry favor with the United States. The United States deployed medium-range missiles on the Philippine island of Luzon to directly threaten China, and it is precisely to achieve this purpose, to tie the Philippines firmly to the US chariot, and to make the Philippines a puppet of the United States.
From Russia's point of view, Russia came forward directly after China's diplomatic protest and made it clear that it would not rule out the deployment of missiles to Cuba. As far as Russia is concerned, on the one hand, it shows the high degree of strategic coordination between China and Russia on international issues, and on the other hand, it also shows that Russia has reached an unbearable point in the face of the United States' practice of backtracking and deploying intermediate-range missiles. Russia's tough retaliatory posture is also aimed at preventing the United States from deploying medium-range missiles in Japan and South Korea again; if China and Russia fail to take a tough counter at this time, the United States' medium-range missiles are everywhere from the Korean Peninsula to Japan to the Philippines, and this is also dangerous for Russia's security. Therefore, from the perspective of Russia's own security interests and the joint efforts of China and Russia to confront the United States, Russia must make the strongest voice and make it clear that it does not rule out the deployment of intermediate-range missiles to Cuba. Just as Ryabkov said, the United States should not think that Russia and China have no means of countermeasures, the absolute security advantage sought by the United States is gone forever under today's technological conditions, if the United States wants to play big, everyone will play big together, and finally see who has the ability to win at this table.
From China's point of view, although the Chinese Foreign Ministry has issued a stern voice from the United States deploying intermediate-range missiles on China's doorstep, threatening China's national security, it is unclear whether the Chinese military will take greater measures. The details that need to be noted by the outside world are that China has had two interactions with Cuba before: on the one hand, China sent planes to Cuba to deliver large quantities of grain to Cuba to help Cuba overcome the food crisis, and on the other hand, Cuban military leaders visited China a few days ago and held close meetings with Chinese military leaders.
Although according to the Ministry of National Defense, this is a normal military diplomacy and is also a way to strengthen normal diplomatic exchanges between the two militaries, two parties, and two countries, it can be seen from the fact that the United States wants to deploy intermediate-range missiles in the Philippines, although China is only showing its attitude diplomatically, in fact it also has a strong ability to counter the United States. The so-called countermeasure capability means, on the one hand, the deployment of medium-range missiles or other weapons capable of threatening the United States in Cuba, as Russia has done; on the other hand, the Chinese Navy's fleet of nuclear submarines, 055 large drives, and aircraft carriers will not only appear on the west coast of the United States, but also appear on the east coast of the United States from time to time. After all, only in this way can we completely break the so-called illusion of the United States that "as long as it has the superiority of the two oceans, it will be able to ensure its own safety." Only by breaking the illusion of the United States can the United States know that if it causes trouble at the door of other people's homes, one day those who play with fire will set themselves on fire.