The Philippine Navy on Tuesday clarified that the deployment of the US-made NMESIS (Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System) missile system in a joint military exercise with American troops should not be viewed as a threat to any particular country.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Navy spokesperson Capt. John Percie Alcos emphasized that the use of NMESIS focuses on enhancing cooperation and readiness, not on addressing specific nearby threats.

“Its objective is for us to be able to conduct joint operations or combined operations with other Marine Corps or other nations. It is not aimed towards specific threats or specific issues that are currently happening adjacent to where it is going to be fired,” Alcos told reporters.

The use of the NMESIS was first confirmed during the opening of this year’s iteration of the Kaagapay ng mga Mandirigma ng Dagat or Kamandag Exercise between the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) and the US Marine Corps (USMC) on Monday.

PMC commandant Major General Arturo Rojas said the NMESIS will be used in the live-fire exercises in Northern Luzon “if the weather permits.”

“We will be using the NMESIS also to be able to learn and sustain what we did in the past Balikatans. The event (live fire), which is included in Kamandag, will also be conducted,” Rojas told reporters during the opening ceremony in Taguig City.

NMESIS is an advanced coastal anti-ship missile system designed for mobile, land-based strikes against enemy ships.

Its ground-based launchers are difficult to detect and track in complex environments, improving survivability and extending the range and effectiveness of anti-ship operations.

This capability greatly enhances force projection, especially in contested areas.

Meanwhile, Alcos noted that the use of NMESIS in the live-fire event will depend on the “actual situation or criteria” met during the maritime strike demonstration.

“But the objective is to be able to maximize these particular training activities,” Alcos noted.

“As we have mentioned before, we have already submitted to higher headquarters and to the Department of National Defense the list of essential or critical capabilities that the Navy or the AFP intends to have, and this is one of the capabilities that we intend to have," he added.

China criticized the deployment of the high-precision NMESIS anti-ship launchers and other "strategic and tactical weapons" in the Philippines, claiming it poses a threat to regional stability.

NMESIS is capable of striking targets more than 185 kilometers away with sea-skimming precision and radar-evading stealth. It is designed not just for coastal defense but for effective sea denial.

China's Foreign Ministry also issued a warning to "those who play with fire" regarding the Taiwan issue, which Beijing regards as a "red line."

However, echoing Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.’s earlier remarks, Alcos firmly stated that no foreign country has the right to dictate how the Philippines manages its defense deployments.

“Walang pakialaman kahit sinong bansa (No country should interfere) when it comes to the deployment of assets, whether it is our own or if it belongs to our allies. So, we will continue to deploy and train with our allies in the objective of enhancing combined operations or to be able to cooperate with them in the future,” he said.

In total, this year’s Kamandag exercises involve 4,268 participants, including international observers.

Participants include 2,028 Philippine personnel, including members of the PMC, Marine Reservists, the Philippine National Police, and the Philippine Coast Guard. The United States has deployed 2,031 troops from the US Marine Corps.

South Korea deployed 80 participants, Japan sent 107, and the United Kingdom is represented by six personnel.

International observers from France, the Netherlands, Bahrain, Australia, Thailand, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and Indonesia will arrive for the bilateral exercise.

“We anticipate the participation of other observers or interlopers, but we're focused on the training opportunities that we can do and maximize whatever objectives that we can meet for Kamandag,” Alcos said, referring to China.

Kamandag Exercise aims to enhance interoperability between the Philippines and the US while supporting joint efforts to maintain peace and security in a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The exercises, set from 26 May to 6 June, will be conducted in Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, Batanes, Palawan, and Tawi-Tawi.

Activities will include command and control, MKTSO, maritime strike, counter-landing or defensive retrograde operations, coastal defense, live-fire integration, humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR), and subject matter expert exchanges (SMEEs).