Brahmos: Philippines seeks response from India after Indian missile landed in Pakistani territory
.webp "Brahmos: Philippines seeks response from India after Indian missile landed in Pakistani territory")
The Philippines has demanded a response from India just days after India fired an "accidental" missile inside Pakistan.
India's leading English-language newspaper, The Indian Express, reported that the Philippines had sought the explanation because it had signed an agreement with India to purchase BrahMos missiles.
According to the report, the most senior minister in the cabinet of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Secretary of Defense Delphine Lorenzana had summoned Indian Ambassador Shambhu S. Kumaran in this regard.
The Indian ambassador told the Philippine Secretary of Defense that there was no technical problem with the missile system and that "investigations are ongoing." Will be shared.
The missile, which accidentally landed on Pakistani soil, is said to be a BrahMos missile, but so far no official statement has been issued on the design of the missile. And perhaps that's why the Philippines is worried.
It may be recalled that on January 28 this year, the Philippines had signed an agreement with India for the purchase of BrahMos missiles, which was jointly developed by India's Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Machinestronia.
The deal with the Philippines is worth کروڑ 375 million, which is said to be a major defense deal for India.
Addressing a function at the Anantha Center on Tuesday, Indian Ambassador Shambhu S. Kumaran said, "I would call it a curiosity, not a concern. I spoke to the Philippine Secretary of Defense and told him in detail that there was no technical glitch and that an investigation was under way.
It may be recalled that on March 10, a day after the Indian missile crash in Pakistan, the Pakistan Army had said that an unarmed Indian supersonic missile flew from Indian soil and landed at Mian Channu in Pakistan. This place is 124 km from the Indian border in Pakistan.
On March 11, the Indian Ministry of Defense said that the missile, which was falling into Pakistan's territory, had accidentally fired from India, and a high-level investigation has been ordered.
According to a report in The Hindu, another prestigious Indian newspaper, the Indian Ambassador to India, Mr. Kumaran, said at a function organized by the Anantha Center entitled "Philippines: India's New Indo-Pacific Partner". Defense had a chance to talk to Dolphin Lorenzana and our Ministry of Defense has clarified this. A query was made and we answered it with the fact that as far as we understand it was not a technical problem. An inquiry is underway, and we will clarify once the information is available. "
He also said that India has full confidence in this missile system, which is why India makes extensive use of this system.
He added that the initial agreement with the Philippines was reached in March last year, the second in November and the final agreement was reached in January this year.
According to him, the missile is a front line system in the Indian Defense Forces and "we want to share the facts that will come out about it." The Philippines has praised India's stance.
Mr Kumaran added: "Of course, given the Philippines' own defense national security needs, it needs its own armed forces to have this level of capability."
A March 23 report by the Indian news agency ANI quoted official sources as saying that Air Force officers (equivalent to the rank of Major General in the Army) were still investigating and that a group of Captain Rank officers The missile was fired by mistake.
Congress leader Manish Tiwari raised the issue in the Indian Parliament, saying, "We were lucky that day that no one was harmed by the missile, otherwise there would have been a lot of planes flying over the area."
He called for dialogue with Pakistan on nuclear issues at the institutional level and said that it should be permanent at the level of military commanders.Raised the issue of the accidental launch of the BrahMos Missile that landed in Mian Chunnu in Pakistan in Lok Sabha . Warned that we were lucky on that day.
— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) March 29, 2022
Called for an institutionalised dialogue with Pakistan on Nuclear issues & regular exchange of strategic force commanders pic.twitter.com/hFmCr21XBj
However, the response from the Philippines to the inquiry into the missile crash is also being seen on social media.
"If we had functional media (instead of passive media) we would be talking more about it," Harney Klimer wrote in a tweet in the Indian Express.
The retired lieutenant general wrote, "After the missile malfunction, the Philippines, the buyer of BrahMos, called the Indian diplomat. I am sure that the diplomat would have given him the correct picture."
Asked if China could have a problem with the sale, Mr Kumaran cited the Philippines' statement that he sees it as a self-defense platform and therefore did not understand how it could be done. That could be a cause for concern in other capitals. "“After missile ‘malfunction’, BrahMos buyer Manila called Indian envoy”
— Lt Gen H S Panag(R) (@rwac48) April 6, 2022
I am sure the envoy must have given them the correct picture. https://t.co/O35xPu2Cfr
A Court of Inquiry headed by a two-star officer of the Indian Air Force is investigating the incident. Based on the preliminary findings, Indian defense officials had said that it did not appear to be a technical issue but a possible human error which would be investigated.