On April 11, 2024, the United States deployed the Typhon missile system in the Philippines, enabling its military deployment in the Philippines to strike China's southeast coast. After the United States has made such a deployment, China will naturally have to respond.
There is no real threat from the deployment of missiles by the United States
There are two things we need to know about this.
The first is that the US deployment of the Typhon missile system in the Philippines is more symbolic than practical, and the second is that China's response has adopted the idea of "you throw your atomic bomb, I will fight my grenade."
On the first point, don't look at the overwhelming media coverage of this incident now, in fact, the deployment of the Typhon missile system by the United States in the Philippines has not caused much harm to China.
Typhon missile system
The Typhon missile system consists of two parts, one is an air defense system, which mainly uses Standard-6 anti-aircraft missiles. The other part is the ground strike system, which uses the Block V, commonly known as the Tomahawk 5 missile.
Among them, the Block V missile has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers, which has reached the level of medium-range ballistic missiles, and can be deployed in the Philippines to hit the southeast coast of China. It is precisely because of its range that the Chinese people have paid a lot of attention to it.
But a little knowledge of missile technology turns out that the Block V missile is very problematic.
For one, the Block V missile uses a small turbofan engine, which means that it cannot be too fast, no more than 900 kilometers per hour.
Block V missiles
For example, China's medium-range missiles are all ballistic missiles, because ballistic missiles use rocket engines, and their flight speed is calculated in Mach.
For example, the continental DF-21D ballistic missile has a range of 3,000 kilometers and a flight speed of Mach 6. Only missiles of this speed can play an adequate role in geopolitical deterrence.
Missiles like the Block V missile, which flies at less than 900 kilometers per hour, would need to fly for at least 40 minutes to reach China if deployed on the island of Luzon, 600 kilometers from China.
If deployed in the central or southern Philippines, 2,000 kilometers away from China, the Block V missile would need to fly for at least two hours to reach the Chinese mainland.
Tomahawk missiles
In this time, China's DF-21D has already launched several rounds, blowing up airfields and missile positions throughout the Philippines.
Second, the number of missiles deployed by the United States in the Philippines is too small. A Typhon missile system has four launchers, and a single launcher can deploy up to four cruise missiles.
In other words, there are only 16 missiles in one Typhon missile system, and there are only 4 Typhon missile systems in the United States.
Therefore, no matter whether the United States deploys one or two Typhon missile systems in the Philippines, its firepower is not enough.
Many people will compare the deployment of the Typhon missile system by the United States with the deployment of THAAD in South Korea, but in fact, THAAD is much more harmful than the current Typhon missile system.
THAAD system
On the one hand, THAAD is equipped with a very advanced radar system, and the United States has deployed THAAD in South Korea, and the United States can clearly feel the movement of aircraft throughout Northeast China.
On the other hand, if the United States deploys an air defense system so close to China, it can intercept China's intercontinental missiles launched on its territory more quickly, and the mainland's nuclear deterrence capability will be greatly reduced for the United States.
It can be seen that the current Typhon missile system is not comparable to the original THAAD incident.
THAAD system
The U.S. deployment of the Typhon missile system in the Philippines is more symbolic than practical.
China's reaction
However, although the US move this time will not pose a substantial threat to China, China's response still needs to be done.
At present, China is likely to deploy intermediate-range missiles in Cuba to form a reciprocal deterrent with the United States.
On April 15, China met with Rojo, director of the Political Department of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba, and made it clear that it would "support the building of the Cuban army."
Director of the Political Department of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba, Rojo
China's statement is very intriguing, so many military fans speculate that China may choose to deploy medium-range missiles in Cuba.
At present, there are three possible future actions for China. The first is the least intense confrontation, and the mainland may provide Cuba with some technology for medium- and long-range missiles.
Although Cuba does not have a military industry, it still has no big problem in producing some medium- and long-range missiles through some technology transferred by the mainland and some key parts and components provided.
If it wants to increase the intensity of confrontation a little, it may directly provide Cuba with medium-range missiles like the DF-21.
Dongfeng-21D missile
The United States has already deployed intermediate-range missiles in the Philippines, and China has also deployed intermediate-range missiles in Cuba.
The most intense confrontation is that China provides Cuba with intermediate-range missiles, and then Russia provides Cuba with nuclear warheads.
Back in January 2024, Alexei Zhuravlev, a member of the Russian Duma, proposed the deployment of nuclear weapons in Cuba.
Alexei Zhuravlev
If the United States insists on going its own way and intensifies the intensity of its arms confrontation with China, then it is possible that the plan of China providing Cuba with medium-range missiles and Russia providing Cuba with nuclear warheads will be approved.
And once this plan is implemented, it may be possible to let Lao Mei directly "blow up".
The purpose of the United States
In fact, evaluating the deployment of intermediate-range missiles by the United States in the Philippines is essentially an incident similar to the South China Sea arbitration case.
The point is not to deter China, but to pit China or the Philippines further against each other, triggering war and destabilizing the South China Sea.
At the time of the "South China Sea Arbitration Incident", the United States also did not hesitate to go to war with China, pushing the Philippines to the front of the stage and confronting China.
By 2016, when China had made the decision to defend its sovereignty even at the cost of war, the United States simply fled.
Conceptual diagram of the South China Sea arbitration
This shows that the United States does not want to go to war with China from beginning to end, nor does it have the courage to start a war. Its actions are just trying to push China and the Philippines into war.
Now that the United States has deployed an intermediate-range missile system in the Philippines that has enough topicality but no threat, it is essentially just an attempt to repeat the "South China Sea arbitration incident".
And in 2016, the United States dared to directly drive an aircraft carrier formation to deter China.
American fleet
But now the United States only dares to deploy missile systems that are not threatening, which shows that the United States itself knows that its naval power can no longer deter China, and can only play a bad hand.
Resources:
[1] Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China, "He Weidong Meets with Director of the Political Department of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba"
[2] Global Times, "U.S. Nuclear Weapons Will Return to the UK? Russian Parliamentarian: Russia Can Deploy Nuclear Weapons in Cuba and Other Countries"