MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines is set to receive its second batch of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles from India, its defence secretary said on Wednesday, which should bolster the country’s coastal defence capabilities amid escalating tensions with China.
The expected arrival of the missile system will be the second of three BrahMos missile batteries Manila agreed to purchase under a 2022 deal with Brahmos Aerospace worth $375 million. The first batch arrived in April 2024.
“Now that they’re arriving, we will do what needs to be done to ensure they are used properly,” Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told reporters.
The BrahMos, which has a range of 290 km (180 miles) and can be fired from land, sea and submarine, is part of the Philippine military’s modernisation programme.
The second missile battery delivery comes at a time when diplomatic and security ties between Manila and Beijing are strained due to frequent clashes in the South China Sea, which China claims mostly as its own, and recently accusations of espionage.
Teodoro pushed back strongly against China’s recent arrest of three Filipinos accused of spying, calling the allegations implausible.
Chinese authorities arrested three Filipinos and accused them of working for the Philippine intelligence agency to gather classified information on its military, the state-run China Daily reported on April 3, citing state security officials. It said the three had confessed to the crime.
“What capability do Filipinos have to spy in China?,” Teodoro said. “What interest do we have in what goes inside their country? Our interest is what they are doing in the West Philippine Sea,” he added using the term Manila uses to refer to its exclusive economic zone.
Teodoro also rejected assertions the Philippine government is fuelling anti-Chinese sentiment, saying that if such sentiment exist, the blame lies with the Chinese Communist Party.
“I will say without hesitation that they are the main cause of xenophobia,” Teodoro said. “If there’s xenophobia, it’s because of the overreach of the Chinese Communist Party and President Xi Jinping, not just around the world, but even among their own people.”
There was no immediate comment from the Chinese Embassy in Manila on the Philippine’s defence secretary’s remarks.
(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Michael Perry)
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