The Philippine marine corps has unveiled a new anti-ship missile unit equipped with Indian-made BrahMos cruise missiles. (RTVMalacanang)
The Philippine marine corps has unveiled a new anti-ship missile unit equipped with Indian-made BrahMos cruise missiles, a move that could strengthen Manila’s defenses in the disputed South China Sea but is likely to draw attention from Beijing.
A BrahMos missile unit debuted during the corps’ 75th anniversary celebration, according to a video released Friday by the Philippine government.
The missile can be launched from air, land, sea and underwater carrying conventional warheads weighing up to 660 pounds. It has a range of 180 miles and there is no known weapons system that can intercept it, according to BrahMos Aerospace.
It has a top speed of about 2,100 mph, according to the state-run Philippine News Agency.
The Philippines purchased three BrahMos batteries for $320 million in January 2022, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has said the country plans to acquire more, according to an Aug. 8 report by the agency.
Scarborough Shoal — a flashpoint in the South China Sea where Chinese and Philippine vessels have repeatedly clashed — lies about 140 miles from Luzon, the Philippines’ main island.
Satellite imagery and analysis by Naval News last year indicated construction of possible BrahMos bases on Luzon, including at Naval Station Leovigildo Gantioqui in Zambales and Camp Cape Bojeador in Burgos, Ilocos Norte. U.S. forces have trained at both locations.
In April 2023, Marcos observed a U.S. Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, firing at a target ship of Zambales during the annual Balikatan drills. U.S. Marines trained at Camp Cape Bojeador during the Kamandag exercise in October 2024.
American troops have also deployed their own anti-ship systems to the Philippines. A U.S. Army mid-range Typhon missile battery has been stationed in the islands since spring 2024. The deployment drew criticism from China, which maintains a large arsenal of intermediate-range missiles and has described U.S. actions in the region as destabilizing.
The Army fired the Typhon system from northern Australia during the Talisman Sabre drills in July. The Marines’ Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, or NMESIS, made its Philippines debut in April, operating in the Batanes, a group of islands between Taiwan and Luzon, during this year’s Kamandag exercise.
The BrahMos unveiling came a week after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his Philippine counterpart, Gilbert Teodoro, announced the formation of a new military task force, to be led by a general or admiral, to deter aggression in the South China Sea.
The new BrahMos batteries could help deter Chinese expansion not only at Scarborough Shoal but also around other Philippine waters and islands, said Paul Buchanan, an American security analyst based in New Zealand.
“They could be effective against any landing vessels as well as warships,” he told Stars and Stripes by email Monday.
Still, the new capability is unlikely to alter the broader balance of power in the region, said Patricio Abinales, a professor at the University of Hawaii’s School of Pacific and Asian Studies.
“But it is a big morale boost to the Philippine Marines which can now say it is truly back to its main role of external defense and not anymore an anti-insurgency force,” he said by email Monday.
