The US military has deployed a new mid-range missile system in Japan in a step that may bolster deterrence.



The Typhon system was unveiled to the media Monday at the US Marine Corps' Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture.



The deployment is part of a joint exercise with Japan's Self-Defense Forces that started last Thursday. Resolute Dragon is aimed at coordinating maneuvers for the defense of Japan's remote islands.



Typhon is capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles from the ground. The system can launch missiles with a 1,600-kilometer range that could reach the East China Sea and parts of China from Iwakuni.



The US did not possess ground-launched intermediate- and shorter-range missiles under a nuclear disarmament treaty signed with the former Soviet Union in the final phase of the Cold War.



At the same time, China produced and deployed many such missiles. Analysts say they play a central role in the Chinese military's strategy of countering the US.



After the disarmament treaty expired, the US sped up the development of Typhon with the aim of deploying it in the Indo-Pacific. Last year, the Philippines became the first country in the region where the US military deployed the system.



US Colonel Wade Germann told reporters that the joint exercise provides tough and realistic training. He also said they will make sure they are ready to fight when required.



He added that the exercise is also an opportunity to test Typhon at an air station and a port at Iwakuni.



China has said it resolutely rejects the missile system's deployment. Russia has also criticized the US for what it called a destabilizing act.