Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. commended India’s firm stance against China as a model for balancing diplomacy and defense, stressing that “soft power” must be backed by “hard power” to safeguard national interests.

Teodoro underscored the importance of military readiness in complementing diplomatic efforts during an interview with Stratnews Global, a media outfit based in New Delhi, India on Thursday, Aug. 7.

“There can be no soft power without hard power,” he said, noting that India’s response to border tensions with China demonstrated how credible defense capabilities can strengthen a country’s position in negotiations.

India and China remain locked in a protracted military standoff along their disputed Himalayan border, with both sides maintaining significant troop deployments despite multiple rounds of talks aimed at easing tensions.

Adopting the same mindset, Teodoro emphasized that the Philippines must continue modernizing the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to deter threats and protect sovereignty, particularly in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) where China continues to expand its presence.

The AFP's modernization could possibly include the procurement of additional BrahMos supersonic missiles from India. The DND bought three BrahMos cruise system batteries from India for P18.9 billion in 2022. The first and second batteries were delivered in April 2024 and April 2025. The third battery is expected to be transported next year.

Teodoro also raised the possibility of procuring a submarine for the Philippine Navy. “I see that coming when there is a time that the Philippines will be an expeditionary naval force,” he said.

India, which has experience building the Scorpène-class submarine similar to what the Philippines is considering, has expressed interest to assist in developing the Philippine Navy’s submarine capabilities including potential collaboration on submarine infrastructure, basing, training, and even production.

Teodoro also cited the need to develop multilateral partnerships with like-minded nations in the Indo-Pacific to address common security challenges.

Teodoro joined the Philippine delegation accompanying President Marcos Jr. during the latter’s official visit to India from Aug. 4 to 8 to reinforce the country’s commitment to expand strategic partnerships across the Indo-Pacific region.

During the visit, Marcos had said India became the fifth country to hold a “strategic partner status” with the Philippines, signifying a shared commitment to a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific, after Japan, Vietnam, Australia, and South Korea.

Teodoro signed agreements with Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh to further strengthen the two nations’ bilateral military cooperation namely the Terms of Reference (TORs) between the Indian Air Force and the Philippine Air Force on Air Staff Talks, between the Indian Army and the Philippine Army on Army-to-Army Staff Talks, and between the Indian Navy and the Philippine Navy on Navy-to-Navy Staff Talks.

The TORs serve as frameworks for establishing the respective working groups of the AFP major services with their Indian counterparts, facilitating structured and recurring staff-level talks.

The working groups will be instrumental in advancing cooperation in areas such as military education and joint training, capability development, logistics, maritime domain awareness, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR).

Marcos also held high-level discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where both leaders expressed their shared commitment to upholding a rules-based international order, promoting regional peace and stability, and pursuing closer cooperation in defense, trade, technology, energy, and education.

Teodoro said the strategic partnership of the Philippines and India “is not really mostly defense but all-encompassing.”

“Equally important to defense is the partnerships in technological advancements, resilience, pharmaceuticals, trade and industry, your railway system, airports, seaports. India has made massive strides towards digitalization and the infrastructure development is very, very impressive,” the defense chief noted.

“The strategic partnership that was entered into yesterday is filled with endless possibilities, and it is a legacy that we can leave to our successors to work on,” he added.