Hegseth announces US missile plan likely to inflame China tensions
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United States defense treaty ally the Philippines will host another American missile system capable of targeting Chinese military facilities in the contested South China Sea, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday.The news follows last year's high-profile delivery of a midrange missile system that drew sharp criticism from China over its potential to reach the Chinese coast. The second unit is of a shorter range but could still escalate tensions and the risk of miscalculation.Why It MattersThe Philippines and China are locked in a long-running territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Beijing claims sovereignty over upward of 90 percent of the strategic waterway and has accused Manila of acting as a pawn in U.S. efforts to contain China.Speaking alongside Philippine defense officials in Manila on Friday, Hegseth criticized China's aggressive behavior in the region and said a U.S. Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, or NMESIS, launcher would be deployed t...