Asian media are talking about the possibility of a "BrahMos Belt" forming across the shores of ASEAN nations, in a big win for India's strategic relationships and arms deals. Bilateral training, logistics, maintenance, and defence-industrial cooperation are reportedly involved in these deals with Southeast Asian nations, helping India to solidify its alliances and influence in the region.
The BrahMos, often called India’s most potent defence export, performed superlatively during Operation Sindoor, completely overwhelming Pakistan’s Chinese-origin air defence systems and hitting targets with remarkable accuracy. While there are several variants of the BrahMos, the one primed for export has a range of 290 kilometres.
In 2022, the Philippines agreed a deal with New Delhi for three shore-based anti-ship BrahMos batteries to equip its Marine Corps' Coastal Defence Regiment. The deal reportedly included training, maintenance, and logistics along with mobile launchers, radars, and command elements. The three batteries arrived in Manila between April 2024 and April 2026, reportedly with a long-term inventory management plan, boosting the nation's operational coastal-defence capability to dependable standards.
The BrahMos missile system is expected to help plug the Philippine military's gaps in sea control, anti-access/area-denial capabilities, and coastal and island defence operations.
Then came the news about Vietnam, another ASEAN member, wanting a similar deal. Not long after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vietnamese President To Lam discussed the possible sale and long-term maintenance of several military platforms, including the BrahMos missile system, BrahMos Aerospace Chief Jaiteerth Joshi confirmed that export negotiations for the supersonic cruise missile with Vietnam are now in the final stages.
READ HERE | After Philippines, key BrahMos pact inked with Vietnam; Indonesia next
Indonesia is said to be keen to go beyond the single BrahMos missile battery it had sought in March 2026. The sale of additional BrahMos supersonic missile systems is said to have come up during Modi's three-day visit to the country in July.
ASEAN allies and BrahMos
A report by Malaysia-based Defence Security Asia claims that Thailand is now exploring BrahMos as its preferred platform to guard its divided seaboards, as it believes the missile can force "hostile surface forces to calculate launch-site uncertainty, compressed interception timelines, and potentially severe losses before approaching strategically important waters." Given that Bangkok has both the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea to defend, the country choosing BrahMos to protect its waters and shores would mark another milestone for India and Russia.
"If Thailand eventually joins the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia as a BrahMos operator, overlapping coastal-strike capabilities could produce an informal 'BrahMos belt,' complicating regional naval planning while expanding India's defence-industrial and logistical footprint across ASEAN," the Defence Security Asia report said.
What is the 'BrahMos Belt'?
The Philippines' deployment planning for the batteries revolves around the defence of the Luzon Strait and the West Philippine Sea as part of its Comprehensive Archipelagic Defence Concept. The operational credibility of India's defence exports will also be showcased on a major international stage, with BrahMos missiles set to feature in the US-led Exercise Balikatan.
The term "BrahMos Belt" does not refer to a formal military alliance. Instead, it describes a chain of Southeast Asian countries equipped with the BrahMos missile, creating a broad arc of coastal missile defences across the region.
If multiple ASEAN nations deploy the system, any navy operating in these waters — including China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) — would have to account for BrahMos-equipped coastlines in several countries rather than just one. This would complicate operational planning by increasing the risk of facing coordinated anti-ship missile threats from multiple directions while simultaneously expanding India's long-term defence-industrial presence through training, logistics, maintenance, and future upgrades.
