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<strong>External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar&#39;s visit to the Philippines starting this weekend&nbsp;is set to&nbsp;cement special ties between New Delhi and Manila riding of&nbsp;their recent BarhMos missile deal, widely touted as a game-changer in the South China Sea. The two countries are now looking at working together in the fields of&nbsp;maritime security, intelligence-sharing, military training, procurement and logistics.&nbsp;</strong></p>
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The Philippines&#39; Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and BrahMos Aerospace Director General Atul Dinkar Rane had signed the contract worth PHP 18.9 billion in a virtual ceremony at the DND headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on January 28.</p>
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Calling it a landmark move, the western Pacific Ocean country said it realises the importance of the contract considering escalating regional tensions, especially China&#39;s strategic expansion into the South China Sea.<br />
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&quot;Equipping our Navy with this vital asset is imperative as the Philippines continues to protect the integrity of its territory and defend its national interests,&quot; Lorenzana had said at the time of contract signing for the shore-based anti-ship missile system acquisition project for the Philippine Navy.<br />
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&quot;As the world&#39;s fastest supersonic cruise missiles, the Brahmos Missiles will provide deterrence against any attempt to undermine our sovereignty and sovereign rights, especially in the West Philippine Sea,&quot; the defence chief had <a href="https://www.dnd.gov.ph/Postings/Post/Shore-based%20anti-ship%20missile%20system%20contract%20signed?fbclid=IwAR0wdFDq5K–xmpYPN37UmTF6ytkPxtj1lUVPS5K2amp7cNZ6gRcitykHO4" rel="nofollow">added</a>.<br />
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As reported by IndiaNarrative.com last December, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been busy giving final touches to the modernization of his country&#39;s armed forces with acquisition of missile corvettes, Black Hawk combat helicopters, Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) and India&#39;s BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, before his term expires in June. &nbsp;</p>
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<img alt="Brahmos India Phillippines" src="https://www.indianarrative.com/upload/news/brahmos_signing.webp" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;" /></p>
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<em><strong>The ceremonial contract signing for the shore-based anti-ship missile system acquisition project for the Philippine Navy from Brahmos Aerospace held today at the Philippines Department of National Defence (Image courtesy: Department of National Defence, Philippines)</strong></em></p>
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The Philippine government&#39;s Department of Budget and Management (DBM) had on December 27 released two Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) to cover the initial funding requirements of the &#39;Shore-Based Anti-Ship Missile System Acquisition Project&#39; of the Philippine Navy under the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Programme.<br />
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Manila has shown interest in acquiring BrahMos – the potent offensive missile weapon system developed through the joint venture between India (DRDO) and Russia (NPOM) – ever since the indigenously built stealth warship INS Sahyadri had docked at Manila South Harbour along with an anti-submarine corvette, INS Kiltan in October 2019.<br />
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Initially, Philippines will be acquiring three batteries – consisting of three mobile autonomous launchers along with two or three missile tubes each and the tracking systems – besides training for operators and maintainers as well as the necessary Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) package.<br />
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The deliveries of the BrahMos for the Philippine Navy&#39;s Shore-Based Anti-Ship Missile System Acquisition Project are expected to start later this year.<br />
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Lorenzana had called it an &quot;absolute honour&quot; for the Philippines to be the first foreign nation to acquire India&#39;s supersonic cruise missile systems.<br />
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Jaishankar, who will be reaching Manila straight from Australia after attending the two-day Quad foreign ministers&#39; meeting beginning January 10, is also expected to discuss key developments in overall bilateral relations with his counterpart Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin.<br />
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Strengthening cooperation between India the Philippines on regional and global issues in the context of ASEAN and India Dialogue; and mutual support to address the Covid-19 pandemic and economic revitalization in the fields of agriculture, energy, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) could also be the top meeting agenda.&nbsp;</p>
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<img alt="India Brhamos Phillippines" src="https://www.indianarrative.com/upload/news/india_phillippines_story.webp" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;" /></p>
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<em><strong>Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar with Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin at the sidelines of the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Bangkok in 2019 (Image courtesy: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Philippines)</strong></em></p>
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Locsin had last year said that Jaishankar&#39;s wisdom on Indo-Pacific dynamics has guided him in many crucial decisions, including Indian minister&#39;s &quot;sharp insight&quot; on the the Indo-Pacific region.<br />
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We support India&rsquo;s initiative for an ASEAN-India Joint Statement on the ASEAN Outlook and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative.<br />
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&quot;We commend India&#39;s active participation in the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum, and SOMTC Plus India. We aspire for a region of peace, growth, stability and freedom especially from non-state transnational threats to which we are especially vulnerable,&quot; the Foreign Affairs Secretary had <a href="https://dfa.gov.ph/dfa-news/events/54th-asean-ministerial-meeting/29329-philippine-intervention-delivered-by-foreign-affairs-secretary-teodoro-l-locsin-jr-during-the-asean-post-ministerial-conference-session-with-india" rel="nofollow">commented</a> during the ASEAN post-ministerial conference session with India last August.<br />
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&quot;We look especially to India as a teacher in this particularly perilous field of fire &mdash; which describes our respective countries&#39; situations in this regard,&quot; he added.<br />
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<strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/finally-philippines-will-have-india-s-brahmos-missiles-138967.html">Finally, Philippines will have India&#39;s Brahmos missiles</a>&nbsp;</strong></p>
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