With BrahMos, will the Philippines be able to stand up to China’s bullying?
The Philippines has emerged as the maiden buyer of BrahMos supersonic missile systems, jointly produced by India and Russia, amid China's aggressive territorial claims in the South China Sea (SCS) region. Both sides were in an advanced stage of negotiations for a number of years and would have struck the deal earlier had not the Covid-19 pandemic intervened and hit the Philippines exchequer. Manila has now agreed to buy BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missiles from India for US $375-million to shore up its defences in the disputed SCS. The acquisition is the newest of a number of similar capacity enhancements for the Philippine Army unveiled in contemporary weeks. In December, Philippine Protection Secretary Delfin Lorenzana made public the acquisition of six patrol ships from Austal for $600 million and two corvettes from Hyundai Heavy Industries for $550 million. The acquisition of the BrahMos, said to be the world’s fastest cruise missile, “marks a breakthrough in efforts to upg