Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo assured his Chinese counterpart that the presence of the United States Army's Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system in the Philippines is "not destabilizing."

Manalo said during the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Laos last month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi raised concern over the presence of US MRC in the Philippines

"He (Wang) said it could be destabilizing, the presence (of MRC), and I said no, they are not destabilizing. And, I believe that particular missiles he’s referring to are only there temporarily," he said.

"It’s the Department of National Defense which is really involved in the details of that. All I can really say as far as we are concerned, they’re not destabilizing," he said.

The Mid-Range Capability missile system was brought by the US Army to the Philippines as part of this year's Balikatan exercises from April 22 to May 10, 2024.

According to the Philippine Army the MRC is expected to stay in the country until September or by the end of the year depending on the evaluation of the Salaknib exercise which include MRC related training between the US and Philippine Army. Robina Asido/DMS