The Philippines’ plan to buy the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile from India will help the country’s armed forces increase their ability to protect coastal areas amid rising tensions between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea. On December 27, the Philippine News Agency reported that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) had approved the initial funding requirements of the “Shore-Based Anti-Ship Missile System Acquisition Project of the Philippine Navy under the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program.