‘India and the Philippines are friends by choice and partners by destiny’

New Delhi: India and the Philippines signed a raft of security deals Tuesday aimed at strengthening strategic ties between the nations as they navigate tensions with China across the Asia-Pacific.

President Ferdinand Marcos, on a five-day visit to India, was accorded a red carpet welcome and honour guard before he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

The leaders agreed deals including bolstering ties between their respective armed forces - the army, and air force as well as their navies - with Indian warships currently taking part in patrols of the disputed South China Sea with their Philippine counterparts for the first time.

The Philippines has heightened defence cooperation with a range of allies over the past year after a series of clashes with China in the contested waterway.

“India and the Philippines are friends by choice and partners by destiny,” Modi told Marcos in a speech. “From the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, we are united by shared values.”

Marcos’ visit follows the Philippines’ acquisition of India’s BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system - the first such export by New Delhi - with deliveries beginning in April under a $375 million deal signed in 2022.

Marcos said the two sides engaged in “far-reaching, productive and forward looking” discussions.

“We expressed satisfaction over the rapid pace of the Philippines’ ongoing defence modernisation and the expanding capabilities... of India’s indigenous defence industry as a partner in this undertaking, exemplified by our BrahMos project,” he said.

Prime Minister Modi mentioned that the growing defence ties between India and Philippines are a “symbol of deep mutual trust.” He announced India’s decision to increase the number of Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) in the Philippines.

“Our companies are actively working in every sector — information and digital technology, health, automobiles, infrastructure, and minerals. In the field of science and technology, from virology to AI and additive manufacturing (ADQ), joint research is ongoing. The Science and Technology Cooperation Plan finalised today will further accelerate this...I am pleased to say that under the Development Partnership, we will increase the number of Quick Impact Projects in the Philippines and will cooperate on developing sovereign data cloud infrastructure in Philippines.”

He announced that India and the Philippines will also cooperate in the space sector. “Our partnership on Earth is already strong and we have also begun preparations for space sector. In this regard, an agreement has also been signed today. Our growing defence ties are a symbol of deep mutual trust.

India is a member of the Quad group, which includes fellow democracies the United States, Japan and Australia.

Talks also included setting out the terms of reference for the negotiations on a “preferential trade agreement” between Manila and New Delhi.

Extending India’s support to the Philippines for its chairmanship of ASEAN that is set to begin next year, Modi expressed India’s commitment to peace, security, prosperity, and a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.

“The Philippines is an important partner in our Act East Policy and Mahasagar Vision. We are committed to peace, security, prosperity, and a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region. India strongly supports freedom of navigation in accordance with international law,” he said.

Marcos is scheduled to lead a Philippine business delegation to New Delhi and Bengaluru to meet executives, particularly those from the information technology sector, for potential investments. India and the Philippines are global hubs for IT and business process outsourcing, including call centers.

- with inputs from ANI