Qaisar Mansoor
The Philippines had asked New Delhi for a clarification on the BrahMos missile it is buying from India days after the defense ministry admitted to a missile having been accidentally fired into Pakistan.
Days after the accidental firing of an Indian missile which landed in Pakistan, Philippines, is rethinking to review BrahMos missiles deal from India of worth US $375 million. Philippines Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had called in Indian ambassador, Shambhu S Kumaran, in Manila and sought an explanation on the firing of the BrahMos missile into Pakistan. Indian envoy told that there was no technical issue with the missile systems and an “enquiry was underway”.
The firing of the missile has triggered concerns in Manila. Whereas, on the other hand, India officially acknowledged it had accidentally fired a sophisticated, unarmed missile into Pakistan on 9 March due to a “technical malfunction,” raising concerns about safeguards against miscalculation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
The incident raises questions not only about India’s operational safety procedures and controls, but also the extent to which its offensive strike missiles are deployed in a launch-ready condition. On 28 January, Philippines signed a deal to buy three batteries of the BrahMos missile. This incident should be an eye-opener for other South East Asian countries who are planning to purchase BrahMos missile from India. One can rightly call such deals “suicidal one” as the current incident shows that faulty missile can deviate from its course and can even destroy the host country.
Rather than assuring defense, missiles like BrahMos have the ability to further deteriorate the situation. Spending Billions on defense equipment, which is totally not trust worthy and behaves like a mad dog, needs to be reviewed.
It is pertinent to mention here that Indian news agency ANI has reported that the missile fell soon after it took off on 12 July, 2021 that the test-firing of India’s BrahMos supersonic cruise missile off the Odisha coast in the country has reportedly resulted in a failure.
BrahMos missile is developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture (JV) between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroeyenia (NPOM).
