Will buying India’s BrahMos missiles give the Philippines an edge in South China Sea dispute with Beijing?
- Analysts say Manila’s planned acquisition of the world’s fastest supersonic missiles will boost its ability to defend its coastal areas
- Defence secretary Delfin Lorenzana last year said the Philippines was ‘not yet 25 per cent’ of the way to achieving minimum credible defence capability
Jointly developed by India and Russia, the BrahMos PJ-10 can be fired from ships, submarines, aircraft and ground launchers. The missile, which has a range of 290km and flies at three times the speed of sound, was tested several times last year by Indian armed forces at sea and on land.
Indian media have reported that the country’s army has already deployed a number of BrahMos missiles at points along its disputed, undemarcated border with China, known as the Line of Actual Control.
The agreement signed on Tuesday by Philippine defence undersecretary Raymund Elefante and Indian ambassador Shambu Kumaran lays the groundwork for Manila to procure the missile from New Delhi, and comes as the countries develop closer security ties.
If a contract is signed, the Philippines would be India’s first foreign client to acquire the missile system, and it would represent the first major defence equipment sale by New Delhi – which has itself grown closer to the United States – to Manila, one of Washington’s two security treaty allies in Southeast Asia.
“Obviously the opponent here is China,” said Jose Antonio Custodio, a security and defence consultant who is a non-resident fellow of the think tank Stratbase ADR Institute. “We do need these missiles to strengthen our defence against China.”