(Reuters) -A joint U.S. and Japanese military exercise will see the temporary deployment of the “Typhon” intermediate-range missile in Japan, Japanese and U.S. officials said on Thursday, a move likely to anger China.
The Typhon system is part of a drive by Washington to amass a variety of anti-ship weapons in Asia. The weapon drew sharp criticism from China when first deployed in the Philippines in 2024, also during a training exercise.
A spokesperson for Japan’s Ground Self Defense Force said the Typhon would be deployed to the U.S. Marine Air Station Iwakuni as a part of the Resolute Dragon exercise.
It was unclear if the missile system would be fired as part of the exercise, but the spokesperson said the aim was to enhance deterrence, response capacity and integrated operations.
The Resolute Dragon exercise runs from September 11 to September 25.
The Tomahawk cruise missiles in the launchers can hit targets in both China and Russia from the Philippines, while the SM-6 missiles it also carries can strike air or sea targets more than 200 km (165 miles) away.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali in Toronto, Tim Kelly in Tokyo, and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Mark Porter)
