Senator Imee Marcos expressed fear over China's imminent use of its hypersonic missiles on 25 targets in the Philippines amid tensions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
In a video posted on her Facebook page, the senator bared that the problem is that the Philippines allied itself with China's enemy, referring to the United States by having 17 military bases through the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
"Eh natatakot talaga ako habang umiinit diyan sa WPS, may nakita ako na plano ng Tsina na gagamitin yung hypersonic missile. Hindi naman nila iniisip na lulusob dito sa Pilipinas yung katakot-takot na army nila, mga navy nila--hindi ganun--ang plano air (I'm really concerned that while tension is rising in the WPS, I saw a plan by China to use the hypersonic missile. They're not thinking of invading the Philippines with their massive army, their navy--it's not that--the plan is an air raid)," she said.
"Ang sabi ng US hindi nila kaya labanan yung hypersonic missile. Mas lalo akong ninerbyos kasi akala ko kapag missile mayroon yung ibang bansa yung tinatawag na iron dome hindi makapasok yung missile. Kapag hypersonic daw, kayang-kaya pumasok (US said that they cannot fend off a hypersonic missile. I got more concerned because I thought countries can defend against missiles through iron domes. If it's hypersonic, it can enter)," she added.
Marcos mentioned that the first to be targeted are Batanes and Subic due to the presence there of BrahMos missiles.
"So yung dalawang iyon ang uunahin kasama ng Ilocos kasi may mga live-fire na Balikatan (So those two will be targeted first including Ilocos because of the Balikatan live-fire exercises)," she said.
It was in April when the Manila Bulletin reported the upcoming delivery of the BrahMos cruise missile system from India.
The acquisition of the BrahMos missile system was conceptualized as early as 2017 and approved by the Office of the President in 2020 as part of the “Horizon” 2 Priority Projects under the revised modernization program of the AFP amid tension in the West Philippine Sea involving Chinese vessels' incursions.
Meanwhile, as far as the latest development involving EDCA is concerned, the US is considering investing in a rotation force posture with the Philippines amid China’s continued aggression against Filipino troops in the West Philippine Sea.
The rotation force posture is Washington's initiative with its allies to enhance interoperability and capabilities of troops, increase engagement with partners in the Indo-Pacific, better position itself and its partner in responding to crises as well as generate economic benefits.