Months after BrahMos delivery, Defence Secretary heads to Philippines for JDCC meet

Indian Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane will be in Philippines on September 11 to consolidate defence cooperation between the two countries.

The visit is happening within months of developments—India, having delivered the first lot of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to Philippines and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar having reiterated India’s support in protecting ‘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 deliveries of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile to the Philippines under a $375 million order. In all ‘three batteries’ of the shore-based anti-ship variant of the BrahMos missiles, are to be delivered. These can fire at distances of 300 kms to target ships at sea. The deliveries are to be completed over the next year.

The Philippines is one of the five countries along with Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, that are locked in a maritime dispute with China over demarcation of maritime boundaries in the South China Sea.

Just last week Chinese coast guard vessels slammed, mid sea, into Filipino fishing vessels. Beijing claims the entire South China Sea as its territory. It has refused to accept a UN verdict on based on UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) - regarded as the global constitution for the seas signed by 162 nations – that demarcated the boundaries.  

In March, Jaishankar at a joint press briefing after a bilateral meeting with his counterpart Enrique Manalo in Manila, said, “I take this opportunity to firmly reiterate India’s support to the Philippines for upholding its national sovereignty”.

“As the world changes, it is essential that countries like India and the Philippines cooperate more closely to shape the emerging order,” Jaishankar said as he stressed that India is “preparing to step up its engagement with the Philippines.”

In May this year, Indian Navy’s flotilla of three warships completed a visit to Philippines that was four-day day visit as part of the ‘operational deployment’ of the South China Sea.

“The visit demonstrated India's strong ties with Philippines and its commitment to further deepen the partnership,” the Navy had said.

INS Delhi, INS Shakti and INS Kiltan had visited Manila, Philippines and this included a ‘maritime partnership exercise’ in the South China Sea. This was the second such India-Philippines exercise in the area since December last year.

Aramane will co-chair the fifth meeting of India-Philippines Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) in Manila. The Senior Under Secretary from the Ministry of National Defence of Philippines Irineo Cruz Espino will be co-chairing from his country.

The JDCC construct has been established under the ambit of the Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation signed between the two countries in 2006. The fourth edition of JDCC meeting was held in March 2023 in New Delhi at the Joint Secretary-level. The fifth edition marks the elevation of the co-chair to Secretary-level.