The Philippine defense minister said his country has the right to deploy a U.S. mid-range missile system, dismissing opposition from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as baseless amid tension between the two neighbors over the South China Sea.
“Any deployment and procurement of assets related to the Philippines’ security and defense fall within its own sovereign prerogative and are not subject to any foreign veto,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro said in a statement on Dec. 24.
