Months after BrahMos delivery, Defence Secy to visit Philippines
Indian Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane will visit the Philippines on Wednesday to strengthen defence cooperation between the two countries. The visit comes months after two significant developments: India began delivering BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reaffirmed India’s support for protecting the territorial integrity of the East Asian nation.
“During the visit, the Defence Secretary will discuss ways to further consolidate defence cooperation between the two countries,” the Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday.
In April this year, India started delivering the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines under a $375 million order. A total of three batteries of the shore-based anti-ship variant of the BrahMos missiles are to be delivered. These missiles can target ships at sea at distances of up to 300 km.
The Philippines is one of five countries — along with Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei — that are engaged in a maritime dispute with China over the demarcation of boundaries in the South China Sea.
Last week, Chinese coast guard vessels collided mid-sea with Filipino fishing vessels. Beijing claims the entire South China Sea as its territory and has refused to accept a UN ruling on the maritime boundaries.
In March, after a bilateral meeting with his counterpart Enrique Manalo in Manila, Jaishankar said, “I take this opportunity to firmly reiterate India’s support to the Philippines for upholding its national sovereignty.” He added that India is “preparing to step up its engagement with the Philippines.”
In May, a flotilla of three Indian Navy warships visited the Philippines as part of an operational deployment to the South China Sea.
INS Delhi, INS Shakti, and INS Kiltan visited Manila, including a maritime partnership exercise in the South China Sea — the second such India-Philippines exercise since December last year.
Aramane will co-chair the fifth meeting of the India-Philippines Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) in Manila. Senior Under Secretary Irineo Cruz Espino from the Ministry of National Defence of the Philippines will co-chair from his side.
