India, Philippines focus on trade, security, elevate ties to strategic partnership

NEW new delhi: republic of india and the republic of the philippines focussed on enhancing cooperation in merchandise, defence and connectivity as they elevated their relations to a strategic partnership on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr pledging to work together to uphold a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific region.Marcos, who is in India with a delegation that includes 14 cabinet ministers, met PM Modi for wide-ranging talks that encompassed defence and security, trade and investment, healthcare, digital transformation, space and connectivity, even as warships from India and the Philippines conducted a joint exercise in the South China Sea.The two sides concluded a five-year plan of action to take forward the strategic partnership, and finalised 14 agreements, including three pacts to enhance dialogue between their armed forces, a treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and an MoU for cooperation in digital technologies.“I’m happy to share that we have decided to upgrade our ties to a strategic partnership. We have also prepared a detailed action plan to turn this partnership’s potential into outcomes,” Modi said at a joint media interaction with Marcos, speaking in Hindi.Marcos noted the launch of the strategic partnership is a “momentous decision” since India is only the fifth strategic partner for the Philippines. This decision points to the “possibilities represented by the strong upward trajectory of our two economies [and] the growing alignment of our interests and views on the challenges and imperatives of our time”, he said.Both leaders focused on growing defence cooperation between the two sides, including the supply of Indian military hardware to the Philippines. In 2022, the Philippines became the first foreign customer for the BrahMos cruise missile, developed jointly by India and Russia, finalising a $ 375 million deal for three batteries.“Our strengthening defence ties are a symbol of the deep mutual trust between our two countries. As maritime nations, cooperation in the maritime domain is both natural and essential,” Modi said. “Today, as the President is visiting India, three Indian naval ships are, for the very first time, participating in a naval exercise in the Philippines.”Marcos described India as a key partner in the defence modernisation of the Philippines and added: “We agreed to continue levelling up our collaboration in defence and security.” As part of efforts to enhance dialogue and exchanges between the defence establishments, the two sides will establish mechanisms for service-to-service talks, information-sharing and training exchanges.The Philippines will post a liaison officer at the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region, a key regional centre for maritime domain awareness and tracking shipping in regional waters to counter illegal activities and terrorism.The joint declaration on the strategic partnership stated that the two sides will promote coordination between maritime authorities and law enforcement, share intelligence and technical support, and bolster joint efforts to combat terrorism, violent extremism, terrorist financing, and transnational organised crimes. They will also cooperate in ship-building, maritime connectivity and coastal surveillance, it said.Modi thanked Marcos for strongly condemning the Pahalgam terror attack and for standing with India in the fight against terrorism. He added that the agreements signed on Tuesday for mutual legal assistance and transfer of sentenced persons will strengthen the bilateral security partnership. Marcos expressed solidarity for India over the “tragic attack in Pahangam” and the broader fight against terrorism.The situation in the South China Sea and the broader Indo-Pacific figured prominently in the talks between the two leaders, who resolved to step up efforts to ensure that the region remains free and open. Even as the two leaders were holding talks in New Delhi, China was irked by the joint naval exercise between India and the Philippines, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun ruling out interference by any “third party” in the disputes in the South China Sea.“The Philippines is an important partner in our Act East policy and the MAHASAGAR vision. We remain committed to peace, security, prosperity and a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific. We support freedom of navigation in accordance with international law,” Modi said.Against the backdrop of the Philippines’ differences with China in the South China Sea, Marcos thanked India for its support for the peaceful settlement of disputes in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 arbitration award that favoured Manila.“We recognise India’s influence as a first responder…in this critical area and we want to work with you for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he said, adding that the two sides will work together on shared concerns such as the rule of law, supply chain resilience, food security, and countering terror and non-traditional threats.“We both have high stakes in the future of our Indo-Pacific region and in the world. The Philippines-India strategic partnership will doubtless resonate beyond the confines of our bilateral relationship,” Marcos said in an apparent reference to China.The two sides also discussed measures to boost two-way trade from the current level of $3.3 billion, including the early completion of a review of the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) and the launch of negotiations for a bilateral preferential trade agreement.There were discussions on expanding the range of products for trade, increasing market access for Indian goods and linking digital payment systems, P Kumaran, secretary (East) in the external affairs ministry, told a media briefing. India is interested in opening up the services sector and offering consultancy for oil and gas, while Marcos invited Indian investments for developing upstream oil and gas assets, he said.The 14 agreements finalised by the two sides covered terms of reference for staff talks between the armed forces of India and the Philippines, enhanced maritime cooperation between the Coast Guard forces, mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, transfer of sentenced persons, and cooperation in science and technology, tourism, digital technologies, peaceful uses of outer space, and cultural exchanges.India will support a pilot project for setting up the Philippines’ Sovereign Data Cloud Infrastructure and offer free e-tourist visas to Filipino nationals for one year, starting from August 2025. Meanwhile, the Philippines side reiterated visa-free entry privileges for Indians. The two sides will also resume direct flights between New Delhi and Manila in October, Kumaran said.