China’s ‘Global Times’ mocks India-Philippines exercise in South China Sea: ‘It is about BrahMos sales’

India’s decision to deploy its Navy vessels for a joint patrol with the Philippines in the contested waters of the South China Sea was aimed at upgrading the naval cooperation between the countries. But the  move seems to have elicited a reaction from China, which has territorial disputes with both India and the Philippines.

Close on the heels of India’s Eastern Fleet flotilla, which includes guided-missile destroyer INS Mysore (D 60), anti-submarine corvette INS Kiltan (D 30), and replenishment vessel INS Shakti (A 57), docking at the Port of Manila, Chinese state-backed ‘Global Times’ unleashed on both countries, stating India’s real intention was to sell arms to Manila, and not support the Philippines in its disputes with China.

The ‘Global Times’ was taking a swipe at the report that appeared in ‘Newsweek’, which stated that the joint drill sends a clear signal that India is signaling to be overtly supporting the Philippines in the South China Sea row with Beijing."

The ‘Global Times’ article, quoting Chinese military affairs expert Song Zhongping, claimed India’s “support  was just transactional” and it was “using joint drills to pitch arms sales.” The Philippine Navy had claimed that a “Maritime Cooperative Activity will be conducted to further strengthen the robust maritime relationship between the Philippine Navy and the Indian Navy”.

“From a military standpoint, if India truly attends exercises off the Philippine coast, its real purpose may be to showcase its naval prowess and seize the opportunity to market and export its weapon systems — most notably the BrahMos missile — to Manila,” Song told Global Times, while mocking the Philippines for lacking the ability for “handliing China bilaterally” like India. He said Manila needs to court powers like the US, Japan, and India to counter Beijing.

Song added that these powers aren’t “genuine allies of the Philippines” and were using the country as a pawn to check China or dump second-hand arms. “With no collective defense pact and a far weaker military, Manila gains nothing substantive — these drills merely serve each country’s self-interest and further complicate regional tensions,” Song said.

The Philippines-India drills in the contested waters assume significance with the country’s president, Bongbong Marcos’s simultaneous visit to New Delhi. The Philippines had earlier joined hands with India, the US, Australia, Japan, Canada, and France in holding a joint maritime cooperative activity.

Manila has a territorial dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea over the latter’s claim of sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea using a ‘nine-dash line’. The Philippines also claims rights over the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.