Senator Imee Marcos voiced alarm regarding China’s purported plan to deploy hypersonic missiles against military bases established under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the Philippines and the United States.
“Dahil sa tingin ng Tsina, talagang kumampi na tayo sa kalaban nila… May nakita ako na plano ng Tsina na gagamitin yung hypersonic missile… Ang plano air, ang plano ay yung hypersonic missile at nakatakda na yung 25 na target nila,” stated the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a video posted on her Facebook page.
(Because China thinks that we have really sided with their enemy… I saw a plan by China to use the hypersonic missile. The plan is the hypersonic missile and their 25 targets have been set.)
“Most of the 25 targets are the 9 EDCA sites,” Senator Marcos told GMA News Online.
GMA News Online has sought a comment from the Chinese Embassy in Manila regarding the matter but has yet to receive a statement as of posting time.
The Department of National Defense remarked that it “has no basis for a comment or reaction to Sen. Marcos’ video, because we have not seen nor read the plans that she referred to.”
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) stated they would coordinate with Senator Marcos to obtain more information.
“The AFP takes such concerns seriously. We are ready to coordinate with Senator Marcos to obtain details and take appropriate actions to ensure our nation’s security,” AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said on Wednesday.
Signed in 2014, EDCA grants US troops access to designated Philippine military facilities, allowing them to build facilities and preposition equipment, aircraft, and vessels.
Hypersonic missiles, traveling five times faster than the speed of sound, pose a significant challenge to air defense systems.
“Ang sabi ng US hindi daw nila kaya labanan yung hypersonic missile, mas lalo akong ninerbiyos,” Marcos added.
(The US says they can’t fight the hypersonic missile, it makes me even more nervous.)
She further mentioned that Batanes, Subic, and Ilocos are the initial targets.
“Sa pagbabasa natin, may mga (Brahmos) missiles na sa Batanes pati sa Subic. So ‘yung dalawang yun ang uunahin kasama ang Ilocos kasi may mga live-fire Balikatan. Kakatakot nga,” she added.
(From what we read, there are Brahmos missiles in Batanes and Subic. So those two will be prioritized along with Ilocos because there are live-fire military exercises. It’s really scary.)
However, the Senator did not disclose the source of her information.
Tensions continue to rise in the West Philippine Sea amid Beijing’s aggression over the disputed territory.
On Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stated that the Philippines and China sought to deescalate and manage the situation through a bilateral meeting to discuss recent incidents.
The DFA noted that both sides discussed the June 17 incident where Chinese Coast Guard vessels rammed Philippine vessels, seized firearms and rubber boats, resulting in several Filipino Navy personnel being injured, including one who lost his thumb.