Defence to space, trade to tech: India, Philippines to deepen ties

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Sunday. (Reuters)

A year after New Delhi and Manila elevated their ties to a strategic partnership, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Philippines President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr held wide-ranging discussions on Sunday, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, on further advancing the ties.

Modi also welcomed Manila’s decision to join the India-led Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

Marcos Jr, who visited New Delhi in August last year, attended the BRICS Summit as the current ASEAN chair. His visit assumes significance in the context of India’s Act East policy and its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with ASEAN.

India and the Philippines have rapidly strengthened their diplomatic, economic and security ties in recent times, with the 2022 deal to supply BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippine Navy marking a major milestone.

Both countries hold regular staff talks for their Army, Navy and Air Force to improve joint security cooperation. Meanwhile, trade has grown past $3 billion, driven by Indian pharmaceutical exports, IT services and agricultural cooperation.

In a statement after the bilateral meeting, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the progress made in bilateral cooperation and agreed to deepen and expand collaboration across a wide range of areas, including defence and security, trade and investment, space, railway infrastructure, fintech, education, tourism, science and technology, innovation and people-to-people ties. “Delighted to meet President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. Wished him a very happy birthday too. We reviewed the growing momentum in the India-Philippines Strategic Partnership,” Modi said in a post on X.

“Key focus areas are: Economic linkages. Technology. Trade. Space. Innovation. Creative industry. We also discussed ways to further strengthen India-ASEAN engagement,” he said.

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The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest and reiterated their commitment to strengthening cooperation across all areas of the strategic partnership.

Following Marcos Jr’s visit last year, India and the Philippines had adopted a 2025-29 roadmap to expand military training, staff talks, and maritime security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. Both sides are driven by shared concerns over China’s aggressive territorial assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific and the South China Sea.

India has consistently supported a rules-based maritime order in the South China Sea, based on international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More