By Guo Xiaobing
Japanese media have reported that the US and Japan will hold joint military exercises from September 11 to 25, during which the US Army's land-based Mid-Range Capability missile system, known as Typhon, will be deployed to Japan for the first time. Previously, the US had already showcased the system in the Philippines and Australia. Its latest appearance in Japan makes Washington’s intention of sowing discord in the Asia-Pacific and tightening its encirclement of China clear.
The Typhon system is a product of the collapse of the international arms control regime. In 2019, after the US withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), it swiftly rolled out the MK70 land-based intermediate-range missile launcher. Washington’s deployment plan in the Asia-Pacific had long been in the making. The day after quitting the INF Treaty, then US Defense Secretary Mark Esper openly expressed his support for an expedited deployment of conventional land-based missiles in Asia. In April 2024, the US Army's 1st Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF) deployed the Typhon system to Luzon Island in the Philippines, bringing the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the southeastern coast of China within its range. In July this year, the military's 3rd MDTF conducted another live-fire test of the system's anti-ship capability during Exercise Talisman Sabre in Australia, revealing its ambitions to control the maritime domain.
The latest drill marks a key step in Washington's Asia-Pacific grand strategy, with China as its clear target. Although the joint US-Japan exercise covers a wide area from Okinawa to Hokkaido, its real focus is on potential conflicts around the so-called "southwestern islands." By staging multi-domain operations, amphibious assault drills, live-fire launches and integrated air and missile defense training, Washington and Tokyo aim to boost combined combat capabilities and lay the groundwork for intervention in regional affairs.
As for the Typhon deployment in Japan, US and Japanese sources claim it is only temporary and will be withdrawn after the exercise. Yet such statements deserve skepticism. When the Typhon was moved into the Philippines in 2024, Washington and Manila also cited temporary deployment as a pretext. In reality, the system has remained there ever since. More worrying is the US Army Transformation Initiative (ATI) released in May 2025. It envisions new multi-domain commands in the so-called Indo-Pacific, namely Multi-Domain Command-Pacific and Multi-Domain Command-Japan, to oversee three task forces. The 1st and 3rd MDTF would fall under the former, while the 4th MDTF would be assigned to the latter. This structure suggests a high probability that multi-domain task forces armed with the Typhon or other land-based intermediate-range missiles will be permanently stationed in Japan. The so-called temporary deployment may well be a prelude to a long-term military presence.
The deployment of the Typhon in Japan directly undermines the legitimate security interests of other countries and poses a real threat to regional strategic stability. Once a conflict involving the US breaks out, the system is likely to become a tool for dragging Japan into troubled waters. For Japan, this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII, a moment that should prompt deep reflection and a policy of good-neighborliness. Instead, Tokyo is eager to break through the "exclusively defense-oriented" policy by actively introducing offensive weapons like the Typhon, in disregard of the heavy disasters that war once brought. Such moves not only heighten the vigilance of neighboring countries but also pose hidden dangers for Japan's own security.
(The author is the director of the Center for Arms Control Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.）
Editor's Note: Originally published on huanqiu.com, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.