US Typhon missile system's presence in Japan sharpens Asia arms race

By Tim Kelly

IWAKUNI, Japan (Reuters) -The United States on Monday 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 U.S. troops, along with warships and missile batteries.   

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

"The speed with which it can be deployed enables us to forward position it when required expeditiously," he said, adding Typhon will leave Japan after Resolute Dragon. He declined to say where the unit will go next or whether it will return to Japan.  

The system's unveiling in western Japan follows its deployment to the Philippines in April 2024, a move that drew sharp criticism from Beijing and Moscow, which accused the U.S. of fuelling an arms race. 

Germann declined to say whether the unit in Japan was the same one that was deployed to the Philippines. Typhon was still in the Philippines when Reuters last checked with the military on August 28. 

The U.S. also conducted live-fire exercises in Australia this year but its presence in Japan, closer to China, could prompt a stronger reaction, military analysts say.

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Typhon's latest deployment.

"In the past, these deployments would have been nixed by DC and Tokyo bureaucrats out of fear of the Chinese reaction. You can see that's less of an issue than it was, say five years ago," said Grant Newsham, a Japan Forum for Strategic Studies research fellow and retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel who worked alongside the Japanese military. 

'FIRST ISLAND CHAIN'

The U.S. describes Iwakuni as part of the 'First Island Chain', a string of territories and bases stretching from Japan through the Philippines that hems in Chinese sea and air power and complicates its military planning.

Typhon can also fire SM-6 missiles designed to strike ships or aircraft at ranges beyond 200 km (125 miles). Washington is seeking to mass such anti-ship weapons across Asia as it tries to counter China's growing missile arsenal. 

Unlike next-generation missile projects, Typhon draws on existing weapons that are easy to mass-produce. That, military planners say, will make it easier for the U.S. and its allies to catch up with China, which this year plans to increase its defence budget by 7.2%.

Japan is also stepping up military spending. It is buying Tomahawk missiles for its warships and developing its own intermediate-range missiles as part of its biggest military expansion since World War Two.

Adding to the regional build-up, neighbouring Taiwan in 2026 plans to boost spending by a fifth to more than 3% of GDP.

    "China of course complains whenever its intended victims stand up and start to get ready to look after themselves," said Newsham.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom and Karen Lema in Manila; Editing by Saad Sayeed)