Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Indonesia is being watched closely for many reasons, but one issue stands out above the rest. If India and Indonesia finally seal a long-discussed BrahMos missile agreement, it will mark far more than another defence export success for New Delhi. It could become the latest link in a growing network of coastal missile deployments stretching across Southeast Asia.
At a time when regional countries are becoming less certain about the durability of American security commitments, the spread of a belt of BrahMos batteries in China's backyard could emerge as one of the most significant shifts in the military balance around the South China Sea.
