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Deterrence not limited to weapon systems - PH Navy official

Philippine News Agency

By Priam Nepomuceno
April 2, 2025, 1:28 pm

MANILA -- A ranking Philippine Navy (PN) official on Wednesday said that deterrence consists not only of weapon systems, but also includes the will of the people and many other factors.

PN spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said this when asked on the possible deterrence effect of the NMESIS (Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System) anti-ship missile system that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said would be deployed to the country during this year's iteration of the "Balikatan" exercises.

NMESIS is described as a high mobile coastal anti-ship missile with the ability to strike hostile surface vessels from land-based positions.

"Deterrence is more than just one missile system; it is the integration of different systems comprised of but not limited to the will of the people, " he said in a message to the Philippine News Agency.

However, he did not identify the possible weapons systems that could be integrated with the NMESIS anti-ship missile due to security reasons.

"(This also includes) military capability, national leadership and alliances with other like-minded states," Trinidad added.

Hegseth earlier said that NMESIS and other "advanced capabilities" weapons that would be deployed by US forces would be used to train their Filipino counterparts who can use it in defending Philippine sovereignty.

Aside from the NMESIS, which is expected to arrive soon, other modern US weapons in the country include the Medium Range Capability (MRC) Typhon missile system which arrived in the country in April of last year and was used for training purposes in the 2024 iteration of "Salaknib" and "Balikatan" drills.

The Typhon missile system is capable of firing Tomahawk Land Attack Missile and the Standard Missile-6 and is believed to have a range in excess of 1,000 miles. (PNA)