Assessing India-Philippines Defence Engagement: Strategic Alignments and Future Trajectories

India and the Philippines signed the deal worth USD 375 million dollars for the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles in 2022, and the first batch of missiles was delivered in April of 2024. The growing defence cooperation between both nations marks a strategic shift in India’s Act East Policy which was launched in 2014. Within the broader Indo-Pacific framework, this engagement offers mutual advantages in maritime security, counter-terrorism, and capacity building. This research paper explores and examines the strategic relevance of this partnership in lines with the rising assertiveness of China, assesses challenges and identifies potential areas of cooperation. It also investigates broader implication of this partnership on the regional security of both the nations respectively. Furthermore, this paper analyses as to how this partnership compliments India’s strategic objectives in Southeast Asia through policies such as ‘Look East’ and ‘Act East’. This study points that the India-Philippines defence partnership has emerged as a critical pillar of their engagement and while this might seem monumental, both the nations should work towards further deepening this collaboration by exploring Philippines as an option for defence exports under it Atmanirbhar Bharat Initiative.