AFP: No foreign country can dictate PH military asset deployment

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) asserted that no foreign country can dictate the deployment of any military asset within its territory.

This statement comes as China renewed its call for the pull out of United States' mid-range capability missiles in the Philippines.

AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla emphasized that strengthening national defenses is an inherent right of every state, and the Philippines will freely decide on its own course of action.

Padilla countered China's concerns by highlighting that China's militarization and presence of artificial islands in the South China Sea pose the actual and significant danger.

She previously stated that the Typhon missile launchers were deployed for training and recent movements were part of logistical exercises, declining to disclose their current location for security reasons.

Padilla asserted that no single entity can dictate the Philippines' defense deployments and that the nation has the right to modernize and strengthen its alliances.