Philippines agrees to buy India anti-ship missile system

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana offered few details about the nearly US$375 million (S$505 million) contract awarded to BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between India and Russia. - Reuters

MANILA, Jan 14, 2022 (AFP): The Philippines has agreed to buy an anti-ship missile system from India, the defence minister said on Friday night (Jan 14), shoring up its security in the face of growing Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.

Manila's military was one of the most poorly equipped in Asia when President Rodrigo Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino, began a modest modernisation program in 2012 -- but it is still no match for its superpower neighbour China.