The risks of a nuclear arms race in the Indo-Pacific region
The Philippine should remember to steer clear of nuclear weapons, even as its allies flex their military muscle, Manuel Mogato writes.
Manuel Mogato | August 2, 2026
MANILA — Recently, the US military deployed the Dark Eagle, its newest hypersonic missile system, in Guam during an exercise called “Valiant Shield 2026”, the Stars and Stripes reported.
According to a report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the Dark Eagle has a range of 1,725 miles and uses a booster rocket motor to accelerate over five times the speed of sound, or more than a mile per second.
During the exercise, Indo-Pacific Command chief, Admiral Samuel Paparo, witnessed the US Army’s 7th Infantry Division train with the Dark Eagle, a ground-launched Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), in Guam.
“The LRHW is intended to provide the Army with a long-range conventional precision strike capability against time-sensitive and heavily defended targets, particularly in contested environments,” the Stars and Stripes said, quoting the CRS report.
Once permanently deployed in Guam, it could put parts of China in range. For now, the Dark Eagle is stationed in Washington state.
But, for fiscal year 2027, the US Army has requested more than $700 million for research, development, test, evaluation, and procurement of Dark Eagle LRHW missiles.
In a separate report, the Washington Times said the Pentagon plans to deploy more offensive missiles, like Dark Eagle, in Guam, as tensions with China rise over the South China Sea and Taiwan.
What’s so special about Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State, where the Dark Eagle was first deployed in March 2026?
It’s the home of the US Army’s Multi-Domain Task Force, the unit that operates the medium-range capability (MRC) Typhon missiles, which were brought to the Philippines in April 2025.
In May 2026, the US Army’s 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force test-fired, for the first time, the weapon with a Tomahawk missile. (Also read: What’s the reason behind US expansion of military engagements in the Philippines?)
At midnight, the launcher fired the missile from an airport in Tacloban, hitting a target inside an Army jungle base in Nueva Ecija, traveling more than 600 kilometers.
What is worrisome is that these US Army missile systems — Dark Eagle and Typhon — could use strategic nuclear warheads in case of a conflict between the US and any of its adversaries in the Indo-Pacific region.
The presence of Dark Eagle and Typhon could spark a nuclear arms race in the region, as China, North Korea, and even Russia could develop their own long-range hypersonic weapons.
Washington needed its own allies to counter this. It could encourage Seoul and Tokyo to develop their own nuclear arsenals because the delivery systems are already available on the arms market. (Also read: Hegseth urges Asian allies to raise defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP)
Japan has started to flex its military muscle and is even arming its allies, including the Philippines, with advanced destroyer escorts and coastal missiles.
South Korea has been supplying the Philippines with anti-ship and anti-air missiles, which are fitted into its four frigates.
Last month, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, in his fifth State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA), unveiled a plan to develop a rocket propulsion system, with the help of South Korea, to launch satellites to outer space.
But the 100 million-peso rocket project has a dual purpose. It is intended for peaceful use, but it could also have a military application.
That could be the start of the Philippines’ ambition to build missile systems.
Thanks to US President Donald Trump, the Philippines has entered a more dangerous world, as the US and Iran demonstrated the destructive missile exchanges in the Middle East. (Also read: US claims Iran “not serious” with peace talks)
Since rising to power, for the second time, in 2024, Trump has disturbed peace and provoked tensions around the world, particularly in Eastern Europe, the Persian Gulf, and South China and Taiwan.
When he first came to office, he walked away from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force treaty in 2019, and now he is reluctant to begin a new START treaty with Russia to reduce nuclear weapons, replacing the old treaty, which expired in February 2026.
The reluctance could be due to the proliferation of nuclear weapons from new nuclear-weapon states, such as India, Pakistan, and North Korea, as well as from China, which is not a party to the START treaty.
Japan and South Korea’s efforts to access nuclear weapons make the Indo-Pacific region more dangerous.
Although the Philippines has no intentions to acquire nuclear weapons capability, the presence of Typhon missile system in northern Luzon poses a double-edged threat. (Also read: Public risks from US-funded biological research laboratories in the Philippines)
Manila cannot detect if the Tomahawk and Standard Missile 6 carry conventional or nuclear warheads, as Washington maintains it neither confirms nor denies it has nuclear weapons every time an aircraft or a vessel makes a port call in the country. It could also become a magnet for attack from US adversaries.
It is prudent for the Marcos administration to stick to its commitment under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and exert political pressure, along with other Global South states, on nuclear weapons states to abandon planned physical nuclear tests and stop developing, testing, and acquiring strategic nuclear warheads.
The Philippines is also a signatory to the Bangkok Treaty that declares the ASEAN region as a nuclear weapons-free zone. (Also read: ASEAN: Finding relevance in a burning world)
The Philippines can do a lot to make the world safe from nuclear weapons and stop a nuclear weapons arms race not only in the Indo-Pacific region, but across the world, by staying faithful to its NPT commitments.
There is strength in numbers. The Philippines must not fall away from the NPT and give in to the US to deploy offensive missiles that may have nuclear warheads.
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