Philippine Warship Departs for India, Signaling a Shift in Regional Alliances
By Alex Moreno
SUBIC BAY, Philippines — The Philippine Navy this month dispatched its most advanced guided-missile frigate to India, an unprecedented long-range deployment that underscores Manila’s accelerating strategic realignment and the deepening ties between two of Asia’s most consequential maritime democracies.
The BRP Miguel Malvar, the lead ship of the Philippines’ newest class of surface combatants, departed the Naval Operating Base in Subic on February 5 to participate in the MILAN 2026 multilateral naval exercise and the third International Fleet Review. Bound for Visakhapatnam, home to India’s Eastern Naval Command, the voyage marks the first time a commissioned Philippine Navy warship has sailed to the Indian coast for large-scale, high-end naval maneuvers.
Beyond its ceremonial significance, the deployment reflects a broader recalibration of Philippine defense priorities. Long focused on internal security challenges, Manila is now pivoting decisively toward external maritime defense under what officials describe as a Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept. The journey of the Miguel Malvar illustrates how that doctrine is being translated into operational reality, with the Philippine Navy projecting presence well beyond its traditional operating areas.
The mission is being conducted by Naval Task Group 80.5 under the command of Captain Paul Michael Hechanova. During a send-off ceremony in Subic, Rear Admiral Peter Jempsun De Guzman, acting commander of the Naval Defense Command, framed the deployment as a concrete expression of the Philippines’ commitment to a rules-based international order. He described the transit as both a confidence-building measure and a signal of Manila’s readiness to operate alongside like-minded partners in complex maritime environments.
Once in the Bay of Bengal, the Philippine contingent is expected to take part in a demanding schedule of drills, including anti-submarine warfare, integrated air and missile defense scenarios, and coordinated surface maneuvers with dozens of participating navies. For the crew of the Miguel Malvar, the exercise offers an opportunity to test the ship’s sensors, combat systems, and command-and-control procedures against some of the most sophisticated naval forces in the Indo-Pacific.
MILAN 2026 comes amid a noticeable acceleration in Philippine-Indian naval cooperation. In August 2025, the two countries conducted their first-ever joint sail in the West Philippine Sea, featuring the Indian Navy destroyer INS Delhi. That engagement, followed by the current deployment to Indian waters, suggests that the relationship has progressed beyond symbolic exchanges to sustained, operational collaboration.
The strategic convergence is reinforced by expanding defense-industrial ties. The Philippines has begun operationalizing its first batteries of the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile system, acquired from India under a deal valued at roughly $375 million. The system, capable of striking targets at sea with high speed and precision, forms a centerpiece of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr..’s Horizon 3 military modernization program and represents Manila’s most credible land-based maritime deterrent to date.
For India, the arrival of the Miguel Malvar aligns neatly with the strategic ambitions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.’s “Act East” policy, which seeks to expand Indian engagement and influence across Southeast Asia and the wider Pacific. By hosting Southeast Asian partners in high-visibility naval exercises, New Delhi is positioning itself as a central node in an increasingly interconnected network of middle powers concerned about freedom of navigation and maritime stability.
Operating together in both the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, Philippine and Indian forces are helping to knit the security of two critical theaters into a more cohesive framework. Analysts note that this emerging axis does not replace traditional alliances but rather complements them, offering smaller and medium-sized states greater strategic flexibility amid intensifying great-power competition.
A 3,200-ton frigate equipped with modern sensor suites and vertical launching systems, the Miguel Malvar represents a generational leap for the Philippine Navy. Its participation in MILAN 2026 is designed not only to sharpen tactical proficiency but also to demonstrate that Manila’s most modern platforms can integrate seamlessly with advanced partners in contested and distant waters.
As the warship steams toward Visakhapatnam, its passage serves as a visible marker of the Philippines’ evolving maritime posture — one increasingly outward-looking, more technologically capable, and firmly embedded in a widening web of Indo-Pacific security partnerships.©kuryentenews