AFP welcomes another Typhon missile from US

'The more, the merrier'

- MICHAEL PUNONGBAYAN

The United States is preparing to deploy another Typhoon Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system in the Philippines, military spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said yesterday.

"This is a welcome development for the Armed Forces of the Philippines. We can say that the more, the merrier," Padilla told reporters.

"So the more assets we have, the more also that we are able to train more personnel on our part. So tinatanggap po natin (we're accepting them) willingly," Padilla said.

She noted that the report on the deployment came from the US Indo-Pacific Command.

"If you are to focus on the training capacity of our personnel, the more equipment, the better. If indeed these particular advanced weapon systems or platforms reach us, it is a welcome development for us to further train our personnel on such weapon systems," Padilla said.

Asked about China's possible reaction, Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad stressed that "the defense posture of the Republic of the Philippines is not designed against any other country."