The Philippines is considering the purchase of missile launchers in order to retain the US TYPHON missile system

A senior Philippine security official said that the Philippines has no plans to withdraw the medium-range missile system deployed by the United States in the northern Philippines, because the authorities plan to purchase medium-range missiles in the future and want to use the system for military training.

Philippine security adviser Eduardo Ano said on Friday that the timing of the removal of the US intermediate-range missile system from the Philippines has not been set.

A day earlier, Reuters reported that despite China's clear opposition to the U.S. deployment of the intermediate-range missile system in the Philippines, the United States currently has no plans to immediately remove the "Tyfeng" missile system.

Asked how long the Tiphon system would remain in the Philippines, Ano said: "We don't have a specific timetable" and that the system's future would be decided by a team of Philippine and US officials, stressing that "there are no plans for its removal at this time."

Mr Ano added: "There will be discussions, but right now we need to use the TYPHON missile launchers for training and to improve the combat capability of the Philippine armed forces."

According to private satellite imaging company "Planet Labs" on Wednesday (18), the "Tifeng" system is parked at the Lavag International Airport in the northern province of Ilogo, near the Taiwan Strait, facing the South China Sea.

"We need to know how to operate [the TYPHON system] because in the future we are interested in purchasing such equipment," Mr Annaud said.

China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday expressed serious concern about the Philippines' plans to maintain the Tifeng system. Arnold responded that "no one can dictate what we do," stressing that the Philippines is steadfast in its alliance with the United States.

"We know what is best for our national interests, and therefore no country has the right to direct us, especially when it comes to the deployment of missile launchers."

In April this year, the US military deployed the latest land-based Typhon Weapons System in the northern part of the Philippine island of Luzon for military exercises with the Philippines. The missile system can be equipped with the Standard 6 supersonic missile with a range of 450 kilometers, and the Tomahawk cruise missile with a maximum range of more than 1,600 kilometers, enough to hit targets in China.