U.S. Deploys Anti-Ship Missiles Near Taiwan in the Luzon Strait

 

 

U.S. Deploys Anti-Ship Missiles Near Taiwan in the Luzon Strait

U.S. Marine Corps anti-ship missiles will deploy to the Luzon Strait, a strategic first island chain chokepoint between the Philippines and Taiwan, during Balikatan 2025.

 “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access point to enter or exit the Pacific Ocean from the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, and the deployment of NMESIS allows the US to assert control over that access,”

The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment’s Medium-Range Missile Battery will send Naval Strike Missile-equipped Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction Systems (NMESIS) to the Luzon Strait during Balikatan 2025, marking the first-ever American anti-ship missile deployment to the strategically located Batanes Island Chain. 

An unspecified number of the anti-ship missile launchers will be airlifted to “multiple islands” in Batanes by the U.S. Army’s 25th Combat Aviation Brigade and U.S. Air Force’s 29th Tactical Airlift Squadron from Northern Luzon. While no missiles will be fired, a release from the 3rd MLR stated that the missile battery will create a Fires Expeditionary Advanced Base in coordination with the Philippine Marine Corps 4th Brigade and simulate fire missions in the Luzon Strait. 

“The NMESIS provides 3d MLR with enhanced sea denial capability, deepens naval integration, and strengthens deterrence by extending the Joint Force’s ability to target and engage from both land and sea. In the Philippines, the NMESIS will also aid in shaping defensive capabilities in accordance with the AFP’s coastal defense strategy,” stated a press release from the 3rd MLR.

The unit also claimed that these systems were specifically requested by Manila following last year’s Balikatan drills in Batanes, which saw U.S. Marines and troops deploy sensors and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. Army engineers also examined port facilities in the area. 

The Hawaii-based Marine Littoral Regiment, which is in the Philippines under its maiden Littoral Rotational Force-Luzon deployment, received NMESIS last December, becoming the first Marine unit in the Indo-Pacific to gain dedicated anti-ship capabilities. Further launchers are slated for the Okinawa-based 12th MLR. 

While it is unclear how many systems will be sent to the Philippines, the MLR’s Medium-Range Missile Battery consists of 18 launchers split between two platoons of three sections consisting of three launchers each.

Alongside NMESIS, 3rd MLR will also be deploying the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar to Northern Luzon in support of the Fires Expeditionary Advanced Base. Marine forces in Japan previously deployed the new radar system in an exercise last summer. 

Positioned between the Philippines and Taiwan, the Batanes islands are within one of the strategic chokepoints for transiting between the first and second island chains. With the NMESIS’ 185-kilometer range, its basing across islands in Batanes could threaten vessels entering the 250-kilometer-wide Luzon Strait. 

Ben Lewis, a co-founder of PLATracker, an organization that monitors Chinese military activity and development, explained to Naval News that this deployment has “important implications” for American sea denial abilities in the First Island Chain. 

“The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access point to enter or exit the Pacific Ocean from the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, and the deployment of NMESIS allows the US to assert control over that access,” said Lewis. 

Philippine Marine Corps Sgt. Luel Depra, a force reconnaissance Marine with Force Reconnaissance Group, Battalion Landing Team 10, 4th Marine Regiment, assesses the terrain during a reconnaissance patrol on Mavulis Island, Philippines, April 30, 2024.

Balikatan 2025 will see a “full battle test” of American, Philippine, Australian, and, for the first time, Japanese military forces across the Southeast Asian archipelago. Drills are slated to focus on territorial defense on the islands of Palawan and Luzon, which are oriented towards hotspots in the South China Sea and Luzon Strait. American and Philippine forces previously tested their command and control capabilities during Balikatan 2023’s sinking exercise. 

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner recently told troops based in the northernmost command to prepare for a scenario that would see Chinese forces invade Taiwan, stating that such a conflict would “inevitably” involve Manila. 

These priorities come amid increased Philippine-U.S. defense cooperation, which began ramping up in 2022-2023 following incidents in the South China Sea between Manila and Beijing.