Bayan Muna Partylist condemned the foreign policy of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. which serves the interests of US imperialism and puts the Philippines at risk of a nuclear attack. This is after Russia warned in relation to the mid-range capable missile system deployed by the US in the northern part of the country. The party said Marcos’s servility to the US endangers the country’s interest and security.

The US deployed the Typhon Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system to the Philippines in April in what it said was a “historic event” in the deployment of its weapons around the world. This is the first system of its kind to be deployed by the US in the Asian region. This system is capable of firing a Tomahawk missile at a distance of 1,000 kilometers, or as far as the coast of China.

The US embassy in the Philippines even boasted that it was flown for 15 hours on the 8,000-mile flight to the northern part of the country. At that time the US did not specify the location of the weapons. It was recently spotted in Laoag, Ilocos Norte, a province without an official “EDCA site.” Although the US kept the location a secret, it brandished using said missile system in the consecutive Salaknib and Balikatan war games. Before landing in the Philippines, the US had said it would permanently station such weapons in the region.

The missile system became the talk of the town after Russian president Vladimir Putin warned that the US would “respond” to the deployment of such offensive weapons in various parts of the world, including the Philippines. The US began manufacturing the Typhon MCR missile system in 2019 after it withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty it had with Russia. The treaty bans the manufacture, stockpiling and use of nuclear and conventional missiles that can fly 300 to 3,400 miles. According to Russia, the US’s unilateral violation of the treaty prompted it to take “additional measures in the field of neutral deterrence as US missiles can now reach command posts and locations of its nuclear weapons.”

According to China, the regular deployment of such a missile system in Asia during war games or any other occasion will cause “insecurity, increase risks and ultimately harm the security of all.”

“We condemn the US-satellite foreign policy of the Marcos Jr. administration, which contributes to bringing the world to the brink of a new nuclear arms race, instead of friendship, goodwill and peace among nations,” according to Carlos Zarate , vice president of Bayan Muna.

“The Filipino people should condemn both the Marcos administration and the US for making and marking the Philippines as a target for nuclear warheads from countries that are not enemies of the Philippines and the Filipino people.”

Bayan Muna also condemned the US’s endless war in the South China Sea, which serves nothing but its hegemonic interests in the region.