The Philippines has accepted India’s offer to buy the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in a deal worth $375 million for its anti-ship missile system acquisition project based ashore, the country’s Department of National Defense said in a letter dated December 31, 2021.

The approval of the deal comes years after initial reports of the Philippines’ interest in the BrahMos cruise missile for its coastal anti-ship missile system. With this approval, the Philippines is poised to become the cruise missile’s first international customer.

The acquisition of the missile will significantly enhance the Philippines’ capabilities to deal with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy threat. China claims almost all of the South China Sea, including parts claimed by the Philippines, based on the “nine-dash line”.

The South China Sea dispute, to which Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are also parties, is driven by overlapping claims over the land features of the South China Sea and the maritime rights surrounding it. Over the years, China has built artificial islands in the region and militarized them to shore up its claims and intimidated other claimants, including the Philippines.

In 2016, the International Tribunal in The Hague rejected China’s claims in the South China Sea as part of a ruling in a case brought by the Philippines in 2013. China had refused to participate in proceedings before the tribunal. of The Hague and rejected its decision. in the case.

In recent years, tensions between China and the Philippines over the long-simmering territorial dispute have increased. In November 2021, Chinese Coast Guard vessels blocked and fired water cannons at Philippine supply boats in the country’s 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Earlier, the Philippines reported an incursion into its EEZ by about 285 maritime militia vessels from China.

In the event of a conflict, the Philippines could use its land-based anti-ship missile system to target Chinese ships in parts of the South China Sea.

The first export of the BrahMos missile should pave the way for its purchase by other countries. Many countries, including Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, have shown interest in the BrahMos missile. In 2018, a BrahMos aerospace team had visited the Indonesian shipyard in Surabaya to assess the possibility of installing the naval version of the BrahMos cruise missile on Indonesian warships.