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A US State Department spokesperson said on Saturday that US-Philippine military exercises are longstanding, “purely defensive” and intended to maintain force readiness and preserve regional security.

The statement was issued after China’s defense ministry urged Manila to withdraw US Typhon intermediate-range missiles.

The Typhon launchers, part of a US drive to amass an arsenal of anti-ship weapons in Asia, can fire multipurpose missiles distances of up to thousands of kilometers.

Temporary deployments of US missile capabilities in the Philippines are responsive to growing threats, intended to maintain force readiness and to preserve regional security and stability for all, the spokesperson said.

“These US systems are designed to be conventionally armed and are not designed to employ nuclear payloads,” the spokesperson said.

Beijing has deployed ballistic medium and intermediate-range missiles that can cover up to 3,000 km (1,800 miles), or 5,000 km including dual-capable ones for nuclear and conventional use, and is developing and deploying more such systems, the spokesperson said.

China’s defense ministry accused the Philippines of breaking promises by introducing the missile system, which it called a “strategic offensive weapon”.

The Philippines said the Typhon missile system was only meant for defense and that the Southeast Asian nation had never promised to withdraw it.

The Tomahawk cruise missiles in the launchers can hit targets in China or Russia from the Philippines, while the SM-6 missiles it also carries can strike air or sea targets more than 200 km (120 miles) away.