China intended to respond with strong measures to the US deployment of intermediate missiles in the Philippines, Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian stated.
We resolutely oppose the US move to deploy intermediate-range ballistic missiles in the Asia-Pacific. Our position has been clear and consistent. US steps are posing a major threat to security and stability of regional players and will inevitably prompt a decisive response from China.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. watched from a four-story tower as a high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) fired missiles at a decommissioned naval corvette in waters just a few miles off the western province of Zambales. The US and Philippine militaries said the exercises in the Philippines, including the Taiwan facilities, were not aimed at any country.
Earlier, the US Army announced plans to deploy intermediate-range missiles in Asia to deter China.
Gibbs & Cox aims to address the US Navy’s weapons and resupply capabilities in the Western Pacific by converting surplus oil rigs into heavily armed mobile missile and resupply bases as part of its Sea Air Space 2024 mobile defence concept.
Dave Zook, Solutions Architect & Combat Systems Department Manager at Gibbs & Cox, declared:
Our target here is to find a solution to help the challenging problem of having capacity issues in the Western Pacific (…) MODEP is a large floating island base designed to bolster the layered defence of national interest. It can linger at an ideal distance from shore and is capable of independent operation for over 12 months.
According to Gibbs & Cox, the converted platform can support air defence or strike missions with five times the power of the US Navy’s existing Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.
The concept also aims to support surface warships and nuclear submarines through an Afloat Forward Staging Base configuration.
The company claims that there are 4-6 commercial platforms in the United States that can be retrofitted at low cost, stating that the acquisition of these redundant units represents 10% of the total cost of the ballistic missile defence version.
