South China Sea: Philippines’ anti-ship missile base puts Scarborough Shoal in cross hairs
- The BrahMos missile battery in western Luzon represents a ‘quantum leap’ for the Philippines in deterring China, analysts say
Satellite imagery shows the Southeast Asian nation’s first Brahmos anti-ship missile base taking shape in Zambales province on the west coast of Luzon island, naval defence news website Naval News reported on June 14.
It said the photographs revealed construction on a plot of land south of the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy that was previously used for amphibious assault and coastal defence training by the country’s armed forces.
Malcolm Davis, a senior defence analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank, said establishing a land-based anti-ship missile capability offers the Philippines a notable deterrence boost against China.
It “represents a significant jump in Manila’s ability to ‘hold at risk’” Chinese naval assets within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and “act as a deterrent to further aggression from Beijing”, he said.