By Hua Zhang
Recently, the US and Japan launched the joint exercise Resolute Dragon 25, which includes the deployment of the US Typhon medium-range missile system in Japan. This marks the third time the US has deployed this offensive missile system in the Asia-Pacific, following its stationing in the Philippines in April last year and in Australia in July this year.
The Typhon system is a new land-based medium-range missile system developed by the US in haste after its withdrawal from the INF Treaty. It is capable of launching Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) and Tomahawk cruise missiles, with a strike range of 500 to 2,000 kilometers. The US Army has claimed that the deployment of the Typhon system is intended to counter broad threats from Russia and China. In reality, however, it is the United States itself that poses a grave threat to other countries by deploying such offensive weapons.
Foreign media previously noted that when the missile system was deployed in the Philippines, its strike range was sufficient to cover China's southeastern coast. The firepower of the newly-deployed Typhon system in Japan extends over the entire Korean Peninsula, the key regions of Russia's Far East, as well as China's northeast, north, and even the Yangtze River Delta. To place missiles at another country's doorstep, bringing densely populated and economically developed regions within one's strike range, while still claiming to feel threatened, epitomizes the logic of US hegemony.
In fact, this move by the US constitutes a key part of its effort to encircle China and Russia with missile capabilities. On one hand, by deploying the Typhon system in Japan, the US can coordinate with the same system in the Philippines to exert strategic deterrence against China from both southern and eastern directions. On the other hand, the US has reached an agreement with Germany to deploy the Typhon system and a Multi-Domain Task Force on German soil starting in 2026, attempting to exert strategic pressure on Russia from both the European and Asian directions. In addition, with the entire Korean Peninsula falling within the strike range of the Typhon system in Japan, the security interests of North Korea will also face serious threats.
The United States intends, through this deployment, to strengthen its practical control over Japan and further shape it into a strategic pivot for deterring the Asia-Pacific region. Japan, for its part, is not merely passively complying with US arrangements, but is acting out of its own national interests. Japan intends to use this opportunity to consolidate its military alliance with the US, signaling its strategic value in exchange for US support for its pursuit of "national normalization".
In recent years, as the US continues to ramp up strategic resource deployments in the Asia-Pacific, Japan has gradually exploited defense cooperation as a pretext to circumvent the constraints of the pacifist constitution and the "exclusively defense-oriented" principle. By hosting the Typhon deployment, Japan seeks to leverage US support to strengthen its remote island defense operations capabilities and further advance its strategic shift from "passive defense" to "proactive offense."
The move is bound to trigger strong opposition from regional countries, adding further uncertainty to the already volatile situation in Northeast Asia. On September 16, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated that the US's deployment of the Typhon medium-range missile system in Asian countries undermines the legitimate security interests of other countries, fuels the risk of regional arms race and military confrontation, and poses a substantial threat to regional strategic security. The US and Japan need to earnestly respect other countries' security concerns and play a positive role in regional peace and stability, not the other way around. China urges the US and Japan to heed the call from regional countries, correct the wrongful move and pull out the Typhon missile system as soon as possible.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova also stated that Moscow views such actions as deliberate hostile moves that disregard Russia's national interests, emphasizing that if tensions continue to escalate, Russia will be forced to take necessary military-technical countermeasures to safeguard its security and interests. Meanwhile, North Korea has consistently opposed US-ROK military collusion. The deployment of the Typhon system by the US in Japan will further deepen Pyongyang's distrust and even hostility toward them.
In any case, the US and Japan, under the guise of pursuing "absolute security" for themselves, recklessly disrupt the region's existing strategic balance. This is a classic example of stoking tensions and creating chaos, turning issues that could potentially be resolved through diplomatic and political means into far more complex and difficult challenges. Should Northeast Asia descend into a new arms race, the risk of conflict due to miscalculation would rise sharply, ultimately backfiring on the US and Japan themselves.
Editor's Note: Originally published on china.com.cn, 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.