Hegemon China is pulling out all the stops to make sure we aren’t capable of defending ourselves, much less give her a bloody nose in the event she tries something really crazy.

That definitely answers Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.’s rhetorical question last week: “Why are they picking on a country that is seeking to strengthen its credible deterrent posture while they have full offensive ballistic and other capabilities?”

Teodoro’s question came after China once again slammed the US deployment of an advanced missile system in the country.

Demanding its removal, China claimed the indefinite deployment of the US Typhon or Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system in the Philippines “is a move to turn back the wheel of history” and cause instability in the region.

Bristling at China’s claim, Teodoro once more asked: “How can a country which is seeking to protect its exclusive economic zone be a cause of instability in the Indo-Pacific area?”

Echoing Teodoro, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año bluntly said about China’s demand: “Nobody dictates to us.”

In a nutshell, there’s nothing wrong with the positions taken by both security officials. Our country does need to strengthen its deterrence capabilities through advanced weaponry like the Typhon.

The mobile land-based Typhon missile system, as I’d written back in July, can be equipped with either Tomahawk or cruise missiles and has the capability to strike targets over 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) away in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

The US deployed a lone Typhon missile system during last April’s Balikatan joint exercise. Both China and Russia immediately denounced the deployment and China has since repeatedly demanded its removal from the country.

Last July, our security and military officials said the US would withdraw the Typhon system this month.

But recent reports suggest the US is in no hurry to remove it as it seems that it wants to test the feasibility of using the Typhon system in the event of a regional conflict.

Año said last week there is no set timeline for the Typhon’s removal from the country as Filipino troops are still training and familiarizing themselves with its operation in case the Philippine military decides to acquire the system in the future.

Teodoro declined to confirm or deny such a plan but said that “whatever will serve our deterrent purpose for our national defense, of course, that is open for consideration.”

Latest reports indicate the lone Typhon missile battery is presently stationed near the Laoag International Airport in Northern Luzon.

But whether the Typhon is here temporarily or permanently, it seems clear that both the US and the Philippines “want to keep the Typhon as part of any cost-benefit calculus for Chinese escalation,” a Singaporean analyst told the South China Morning Post.

It remains to be seen, however, if the presence of the Typhon system will be able to deter Chinese adventurism in the WPS.

But China does definitely face heightened security risks if the Typhon system is in place given that China’s missile defense systems still need improvement, a Chinese analyst recently told Reuters.

The analyst said the missile deployment taken with other recent military developments appears “more troubling for China, considering the rapid US military deployment in its western Pacific territory of Guam and Japan’s plans to deploy medium to long-range land-based US weapons systems.”

But whatever China’s response will be, the Chinese analyst admits that “Beijing’s hope that the [Typhon] missile system would be withdrawn from the Philippines soon was ‘unrealistic.’”

Which now indicates the Philippines has more than enough wiggle room to allow our security officials to disregard repeated Chinese demands to pull out the Typhon.

But then the security officials can do no more than reject China’s demands. “If they remove the system, they acquiesce to Beijing’s demand and forfeit tactical and strategic advantages,” our Singaporean analyst noted.

At this point in time, we cannot lose any tactical and strategic advantage in our lopsided struggle with China.