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Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s three-day visit to the Philippines was aimed at strengthening strategic relations with that country. While India and the Philippines established diplomatic relations in 1949, a greater push was given to them after India launched the Act East Policy. The Philippines had received India’s attention both in the ASEAN and at the bilateral level.

India had been concerned about the South China Sea (SCS) dispute caused by the Chinese belligerence and its unjustified claims made through nine-dash-line. At the bilateral level with the ASEAN countries and at the ASEAN interactions, India had been pushing a negotiated settlement and the finalisation of the Code of Conduct (CoC). India’s former Foreign Minister Late Mrs Sushma Swaraj after meeting the then Foreign Secretary of Philippines Mr Albert Del Rosario in New Delhi on the 14th October 2015 issued the Joint Statement stressing the “support for the peaceful resolution of the West Philippines Sea/South China Sea.” Both sides reiterated the importance of the settlement of all disputes by peaceful means and of restraining from the threat of or use of force.  With the Philippines, New Delhi did not hesitate to refer to the SCS as the West Philippine Sea, Manila’s preferred term.  Despite knowing that the Philippines under Duterte had changed its approach, India continued to stress on the need to implement the PCA Ruling. Modi indicated this before his visit to four nations including Philippines in September 2016. This evoked a positive comment from the Philippines. On the eve of Modi’s visit to Philippines, the then Philippines’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs Perfecto Yasay Junior said that his government was grateful for India’s support to the Philippines in the wake of the July 2016 arbitration on the South China Sea.  However, since late 2016, the Philippines have changed its approach towards the issue. It considered that there was no need to press for the implementation of PCA Ruling and by agreeing to the Chinese way of approach, it could get substantial financial aid.

of late, the Philippines remained a victim of the Chinese belligerence, particularly in the pandemic period. In 2020, the Philippines filed two diplomatic protests with China over the violations of international law and of the Philippines sovereignty in the ‘West Philippine Sea’. In March 2021, China sent more than 200 Chinese boats manned by the Chinese maritime militia to the Philippines’ Whitsun Reef, which Manila calls the Julian Felipe Reef. The Philippines called upon to recall these boats as they were’ violating the Philippines’ maritime rights and encroaching into its sovereign territory.’ The Chinese response was to ask its boats to move in circles in the Philippines’ EEZ.

After more than five years of pursuing a policy to placate China, it is clear that the Chinese belligerence has not reduced. China’s ships prowl the Philippine EEZ without interruption, and Filipino boats often cannot reach traditional fishing grounds at Scarborough Shoal because of the Chinese harassment. Tangible economic benefits from overtures to Beijing, especially promised infrastructure projects, have fallen much short of expectations. Many in the Philippines are increasingly sceptical of rapprochement with China if it entails giving up claims to various disputed maritime features. In Manila, the voices demanding a shift in the approach towards China have become louder.

The Philippines, however, continued to invest to improve its defence capabilities. India’s relations in defence sector are improving with the Philippines. The Philippines and India had laid the foundation for defence and security cooperation through the Memorandum of Agreement on Defence and Security signed in 2006 covering the following areas: 1) Defence Cooperation 2) Defence Technology Cooperation, and 3) Other Defence Related Activities. Different facets of the MOA on Defence and Security Cooperation have been implemented through the exchange visits of high government officials, friendly port visits of Indian warships to the Philippines, joint naval exercises, and military training and education between Filipino and Indian military personnel. The 2nd Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) met in March 2017 after a lapse of 5 years. According to the Philippines Department of National Defence, the JDCC afforded the two delegations with an opportunity to exchange views on regional security challenges. Indian Navy and Coast Guard ships regularly visit the Philippines and hold consultations with their counterparts.

India and the Philippines signed a $374.96-million contract for the purchase of shore-based anti-ship variant of the BrahMos missile from India in January 2022. Mr Lorenzana, Defence Secretary of Philippines, stated that the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missiles, the BrahMos missiles would provide deterrence against any attempt to undermine their sovereignty and sovereign rights, especially in ‘the West Philippine Sea.’ He further said equipping the Philippines Navy with this vital asset was imperative to protect the territorial integrity and its national interests.

Significantly, the Indian Ambassador in Philippines Shambhu Kumaran, said on social media that the two sides with this deal were one step closer to elevating ties between the two democracies “to a strategic partnership and our shared objective of a free and peaceful Indo-Pacific.”

It is in the backdrop of above developments that Jaishankar’s visit to the Philippines to meet his counterpart took place soon after the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Australia. The two Foreign Ministers reviewed developments in bilateral relations since the meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation that they co-chaired in virtual format in November 2020. They also discussed the future trajectory of the wide-ranging engagement between the two countries. The two Ministers also had an in-depth exchange of views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. They agreed to work further towards “strengthening engagement in counterterrorism, defence and maritime covering defence capabilities as well as military training and capacity building.”  They also agreed to make efforts to further expand economic cooperation as well as trade and investment links in a range of areas such as agriculture, infrastructure, health and pharmaceuticals, tourism, ICT, and science & technology. They observed that the recent initiatives to step up cooperation in emerging areas such as fintech, blue economy, renewable energy, space, cyber security and traditional medicine were progressing satisfactorily.

Crucially, both Ministers agreed to coordinate closely at multilateral fora and reaffirmed their strong commitment to a multifaceted partnership that would facilitate the developmental aspirations and shared priorities of the two democracies in Indo-Pacific region.

The convergence between the two countries is growing on various regional and global issues. The Philippines Foreign Minister aptly put the shared views and the common challenges in the following words: “As maritime countries, India and the Philippines, both at the crossroads of the busiest sea lanes in the world know the critical role of rule of law in maintaining stability on water.” The Indian External Affairs Ministry, in a press release, succinctly summed up the growing relations: “Both Ministers agreed to coordinate closely at multi-lateral fora and reaffirmed their strong commitment to a multi-faceted partnership that would facilitate the developmental aspirations and shared priorities of the two democracies in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Overall, the visit is yet another step to strengthen strategic ties between the two countries. “We are entering a new phase of our partnership. Its basis is the mutuality of national security and development aspirations. Our conversation covered a range of issues dealing with both,” Jaishankar tweeted soon after his meeting with his counterpart Teddy Locsin Jr in the Philippines. The Philippines Foreign Ministry summing up the significance of the Jaishankar’s visit stated that it was an affirmation of the commitment between the Philippines and India to further their relations in a post-COVID world. The visit certainly contributed to deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation, the expansion to newer areas based on shared interests and it drew the future trajectory of the wide-ranging economic, diplomatic, military engagement between the two countries.

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Views expressed above are the author’s own.



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