Navy chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar is expected to visit Indonesia and the Philippines later this year

HIGHLIGHTS
- The navy chief has just visited the Maldives and the Seychelles, and there too India has reached out for closer ties.
- A senior Philippine foreign ministry official told TIMES NOW that the purchase is just the start of the defense partnership between the two countries.
The two countries are particularly important for India: the Philippines is particularly important as a market for Indian armaments, having just purchased for 370 million US dollars the Brahmos cruise missile, which is practically unstoppable, being supersonic and with a range of about 300 km. Indian experts are already in the Philippines, working to set up the systems and Antonio Morales, a senior Philippine foreign ministry official, told TIMES NOW that the purchase is just the start of the defense partnership between the two countries. The transfer of a second batch of Brahmos missiles is also under discussion, now that the new government is in place.
The Philippines and China have serious border disputes, with Beijing creating artificial islands in the South China Sea and expanding its EEZ. The Philippines had sought international arbitration but did not get much justice despite a favorable verdict.