Two Philippine officials say that American and Filipino security officials have agreed to keep a U.S. mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines indefinitely to boost deterrance despite China’s expressions of alarm.

The Philippines’ military chief has backed the permanent presence of a US missile system north of the nation’s capital for months now, risking anger from China which had branded the weapon deployment as “destabilizing.

Gilberto Teodoro Jnr challenged China to dismantle its nuclear arsenal before criticising the presence of US missiles in the Philippines.