NEW DELHI: India's deal with the Philippines to supply the BrahMos missile is a bilateral transaction and it will not be impacted by the sanctions against Russia, Indian Ambassador to Manila Shambhu Kumaran has said.
The Philippines also sought a clarification from India on the BrahMos missile following last month's incident of the accidental firing of an Indian missile that landed in Pakistan, the envoy suggested.
BrahMos Aerospace, an India-Russian joint venture, produces supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.
In January, India sealed a USD 375 million deal with the Philippines for supplying three batteries of the BrahMos cruise missile.
When asked about the possible impact of the Western sanctions on Russia on India's deal with the Philippines to supply BrahMos missiles, Kumaran said at an online event on Tuesday that it is a bilateral transaction between Manila and New Delhi.
"I think it is very important for us to maintain that this is an India-Philippines transaction. I do not want to downplay the fact that the weapons system was developed and manufactured by Russia and India and there is a strong element of Russian support in the system," he said.
"But definitely, this is an India-Philippines transaction, and I am quite confident that we will be able to move ahead on that bilateral basis," he added.
The Western countries have imposed crippling sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
The event was organised by the Ananta Centre.
Asked whether the Philippines had any concerns following the incident of accidental firing, Kumaran said there were queries on it and he had an interaction with Defence Secretary Delfin Negrillo Lorenzana over the issue.
"Yes, I did have an opportunity to interact with defence secretary Lorenzana and I clarified...there was obviously a query and we responded with the fact that there was no technical issue as far as we could understand and there was an inquiry underway and we will have that cleared out once the information is available," he said.
"There is definitely a degree of confidence in the system because of the fact that India uses it extensively," Kumaran said.
The incident had taken place on March 9 following which Pakistan had lodged a strong protest with India the next day.
On March 11, the Defence Ministry said the missile was fired accidentally and it landed in Pakistan.