US Army reveals Typhon missile system in Japan as tensions rise with China

TOKYO (AP) — The U.S. Army revealed Monday its mid-range missile system, Typhon, at one of its bases in Japan for the first time as the two allies stepped up their deterrence against China ‘s growing assertiveness in the region.

Typhon was featured during the annual bilateral exercise Resolute Dragon, which started last week, with more than 19,000 U.S. and Japanese troops participating in the exercise that focuses on maritime defense and littoral protection and held across Japan, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

The land-based weapon, capable of firing the Standard Missile-6 and the Tomahawk cruise missiles that can hit targets on China’s eastern coasts, was delivered last month to the U.S. Marine Corps Base in Iwakuni, in southwestern Japan. Its exhibition in Japan follows its deployment in the Philippines last year, triggering criticisms from China and Russia.

The U.S. Army is not expected to fire Typhon or other advanced missile systems during the Resolute Dragon exercise, and its deployment in Iwakuni is only for the exercise ending on Sept. 25, Japanese public television NHK reported.

Japan has been rapidly accelerating its military buildup, especially the so-called strike-back capability with mid- to long-range missiles as a counter to missile and nuclear threats from China, as well as North Korea and Russia.

“Employing multiple systems and different types of munitions, it is able to create dilemmas for the enemy,” Col. Wade Germann, commander of the U.S. Army’s 3d Multi-Domain Task Force, said in a televised news conference from Iwakuni.

It also comes days after Japan’s Defense Ministry said it spotted China’s newest aircraft carrier Fujian for the first time in the East China Sea, in waters just north of Japanese-controlled disputed islands Senkaku, which Beijing also claims and calls the Diaoyu.