Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Ilocos has called for the immediate removal of the Typhon mid-range capability (MRC) missile system the imperialist US stockpiled in Ilocos Norte. The group said the US and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are gravely endangering the entire Filipino people by refusing to remove the missile from the country.

They condemned the Marcos regime and its cohorts for completely surrendering the national independence and sovereignty of the country to the US. “The Filipino people, especially the people of Ilocos, must stand up to remove the Typhoon MRC from the country as soon as possible and expel the foreign troops from Philippine territory,” Bayan-Ilocos said.

The missile arrived in the Philippines last April and was used in the Balikatan 39-24 war games. The location of the offensive weapon was first kept secret before it was exposed to be at the civilian airport of Laoag in Ilocos Norte, a region where no official US military base or “EDCA site” exist.

The Typhom MRC has the capacity to launch Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles capable of flying up to 1,600 kilometers. The US has been manufacturing these weapons since 2019, after it withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a nuclear treaty the US and the then USSR signed during the Cold War.

Bayan-Ilocos said the missile’s existence only worsens the tension in the West Philippine Sea and may even lead to another inter-imperialist war. The deployment of this missile system and the war games in which it is used are all maneuvers to provoke China.

The presence of Typhoon MRC in the Philippines gets many countries very concerned and increases tension in the Asian region. China called its positioning in the northern part of the Philippines a “provocation” and warned that it increases the risk of “misjudgments and miscalculations” in the region.

It has also pushed US rivals like Russia to once again produce intermediate and shorter-range nuclear-capable missiles.

“[The] influx of American troops, deployment of war equipment, and US intervention in the country’s internal affairs is what continues to endanger the lives, safety, and security of the Filipino people,” the group said.

The Communist Party of the Philippines also condemned the Marcos regime for maintaining missiles, military bases and American troops in the country. “The permanent presence of US military forces in the country prevents the Philippines from pursuing an independent foreign policy. It prevents the country from establishing peaceful and friendly relations with China and all other countries based on respect for each other’s sovereignty,” Marco Valbuena, Party information officer, said.

The CPP supports the Filipino people’s clamor for the immediate removal of the US Typhon missile system along with all US troops and weapons in the Philippines. It also joined the call to scrap the Mutual Defense Treaty, the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and all other lopsided military agreements to allow the Philippines to stand as a country that values its independence.