Showcase of US missile system in Japan heightens Asia’s arms race

Move follows deployment to the Philippines that drew criticism from Beijing, Moscow

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The United States on Sept 15 showcased its Typhon intermediate-range missile system in Japan for the first time, underscoring Washington and Tokyo’s growing willingness to field weapons that Beijing has condemned as destabilising.

The land-based launcher, capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles with enough range to strike China’s eastern seaboard or parts of Russia from Japan, will feature in the annual Resolute Dragon exercise.

The two-week drill involves 20,000 Japanese and US troops, along with warships and missile batteries.

“Employing multiple systems and different types of munitions, it is able to create dilemmas for the enemy,’ said Colonel Wade Germann, commander of the task force that operates the missile system, at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in front of the launcher.