TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The U.S. is preparing to remove several Typhon missile systems it stationed in the Philippines in April, reports said Thursday (July 4). 

The mid-range missile systems were stationed in the northern Philippines for use in the Balikatan and Salaknib joint military exercises, which drew the ire of China. On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Philippine Army, Louis Dema-ala, said that the U.S. will remove the missile systems before September, an arrangement that was previously agreed upon, according to Dema-ala, per the Straits Times. 

The U.S. Army allegedly deployed the mid-range missile system in response to perceived threats from China, and their advances in missile technology. During the joint exercises, Philippine forces were trained to operate the systems, but Dema-ala said that no live missiles were fired from the Typhon batteries during the drills. 

Some defense analysts suggested that the Typhon missiles placed in Northern Luzon may have been intended to deter Beijing from taking aggressive actions in the Taiwan Strait. The typhon missile systems arrived in the Philippines approximately one month before Taiwan’s new president Lai Ching-te (賴清德) was sworn into office. 

The army's removal announcement was made on the same day Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the Philippine Armed Forces to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea, per Reuters. For the past year, tensions have been growing between the Philippines and China over territorial disputes, especially over Philippine military forces stationed on a derelict ship grounded on the Scarborough Shoal.

The Philippine Armed Forces also made a statement on Thursday to reassure its citizens that they would defend Philippine territory. General Romero Brawner Jr. said that the Philippines will “respond appropriately” to any Chinese provocations targeting Philippine territory or troops, per PNA.