The U.S. has no plans to withdraw its mid-range missile system from the Philippines, despite demands from China.

Sources indicate that the U.S. is currently assessing the system's potential role in regional conflicts.

The Typhon system, capable of being armed with cruise missiles aimed at Chinese targets, was introduced for joint exercises earlier this year and has since remained in place.

Strategically, the Philippines, situated just south of Taiwan, plays a crucial role in U.S. military strategy in Asia, serving as a vital staging ground for support to Taipei in the event of a Chinese incursion.

China and Russia have condemned the deployment of the system to the Indo-Pacific, accusing Washington of fueling an arms race. China's foreign ministry expressed concern on Thursday about the decision to keep the system in place.

"It seriously threatens the security of regional countries and intensifies geopolitical confrontation," ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a press briefing.

The deployment, some details of which have not been previously reported, comes as China and U.S. defense treaty ally the Philippines clash over parts of the hotly contested South China Sea. Recent months have seen a series of sea and air confrontations in the strategic waterway.

Philippine officials said Filipino and U.S. forces continue to train with the missile system, which is stationed on the northern island of Luzon, facing the South China Sea and near the Taiwan Strait. They stated they are not aware of any immediate plans to return it, even though the joint exercises conclude this month.

A Philippine army spokesman, Colonel Louie Dema-ala, said Wednesday that training is ongoing and it is up to Philippine authorities and the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) to decide how long the missile system will remain.

"It is up to the higher headquarters to decide on its stay, and most importantly USARPAC because they own this; it is not our capability," he told Reuters.

A public affairs officer for USARPAC said the Philippine army indicated the Typhon could remain beyond September, and soldiers trained with it as recently as last week, engaging "in discussions over employing the system, with a focus on integrating host nation support."

A senior Philippine government official and another person familiar with the matter said the U.S. and the Philippines are testing the feasibility of using the system there in the event of a conflict and evaluating its effectiveness in that environment. Both spoke on condition of anonymity.

The government official noted that the Typhon – intended to be mobile and moved as needed – was in the Philippines for a "test on the feasibility of deploying it in the country so that when the need arises, it could easily be deployed here."

The office of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not respond to a request for comment.

Sleepless nights

The U.S. Army flew the Typhon, which can launch missiles including SM-6 missiles and Tomahawks with a range exceeding 1,600 kilometers (994 miles), to the Philippines in April in what it called a "historic first" and a "significant step in our partnership with the Philippines."

A satellite image taken Wednesday by Planet Labs, a commercial satellite firm, and reviewed by Reuters showed the Typhon at Laoag International Airport in Ilocos Norte province.

The senior government official who spoke to Reuters said there are no immediate plans to withdraw it.

"If it is pulled out, it will be because the objective has been achieved, and it may be brought back after all repairs or construction are completed," the official said, adding that there is strategic value in keeping the system to deter China.

"We want to give them sleepless nights."

Anti-ship weapons

The U.S. has been amassing various anti-ship weapons in Asia as Washington attempts to catch up quickly in an Indo-Pacific missile race in which China has a significant lead, Reuters has reported.

Although the U.S. military has declined to specify how many will be deployed in the Indo-Pacific region, more than 800 SM-6 missiles are scheduled to be purchased in the next five years, according to government documents outlining military purchases. Several thousand Tomahawks are already in U.S. inventories, the documents show.

China has repeatedly denounced the deployment of the Typhon, including in May when Wu Qian, spokesperson for China's defense ministry, said Manila and Washington had brought "huge risks of war into the region."

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in June, cited the deployment when announcing his country would resume production of intermediate- and shorter-range nuclear-capable missiles.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo assured his Chinese counterpart in July that the presence of the missile system in his country posed no threat to China and would not destabilize the region.

China has fully militarized at least three of the several islands it has built in the South China Sea, which it claims in full despite a 2016 arbitral ruling that backed the Philippines, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles, according to the U.S.

China maintains that its military facilities in the Spratly Islands are purely defensive and asserts its right to do what it likes on its territory.