BENGALURU, India — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Thursday that the Philippines is likely to procure more BrahMos missile systems from India, citing the Philippine military’s positive experience with the defense system.

In an interview with India’s Firstpost, Marcos said he had spoken with the troops who operate the system. “They say we need more. They’re experienced with it,” Marcos said. “From the demonstrations that they’ve seen, from the training they’ve received both in India and the Philippines, the practice runs that they’ve done, they seem terribly confident in the equipment.”

Marcos said the Philippines is open to other offerings from India’s defense sector, noting that “everything is on the table.” He said the Philippines is modernizing its armed forces in response to growing tensions in the region.

“We are not gearing up for war... we’re simply reacting to the challenges that we are facing,” said the President. “The challenges, those tensions have increased in the past years and this is a reaction to that.”

As Marcos spoke, warships from the Indian Navy were engaged in a joint maritime exercise with the Philippine military. Marcos called the exercises important for ensuring interoperability with allies.

“To be able to be interoperable... with our allies then we have to upgrade our equipment to a standard that is interoperable and that is what we’re learning and that is what we need,” Marcos said.