BENGALURU, India — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed his intent to procure more BrahMos missiles for the Philippines as Filipino troops have become increasingly familiar with the Indian-made defense system.

"I've spoken to the officers and men who operate the BrahMos system and they say we need more. They're experienced with it. Thank God it has never been used, but from the demonstrations they've seen, from the training they've received both in India and the Philippines, the practice runs they've done—they seem terribly confident in the equipment. I think that we'll probably be in the process of procuring more," Marcos said in an interview with India's Firstpost.

The President said the Philippines remains open to other offerings from India’s rapidly expanding defense sector, saying “everything is on the table.”

"Whatever else the Indian defense industry has—it’s been growing very rapidly—and your technology is second to none, so it's always an option for us," he added.

Marcos emphasized that these acquisitions are part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) modernization program.

"We are not gearing up for war… We're simply reacting to the challenges that we are facing. Those tensions have increased in the past years, and this is a reaction to that," he said.

The President stressed that it is the duty of Filipinos to defend their country.

"That is our duty—to defend the country. So in so doing, we have a schedule of procurement of military equipment, but equally important are the exercises that we do together, the cross-training that we do together," he said.

Marcos’s visit to India coincided with joint maritime exercises between the Philippine military and Indian Navy warships, including the Indian Naval Ships (INS) Delhi, Kiltan, Shakti, and Sandhayak.

"That kind of exercise is important. To be able to be interoperable—not purely in a technical sense—with our allies, then we have to upgrade our equipment to a standard that is interoperable. That is what we’re learning, and that is what we need," he said.