There is lot of scope for expansion of defence cooperation between India and the Philippines, especially in maritime security, including the potential for joint sales as well as joint patrols, diplomatic sources said, as the Philippines Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo held bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar on Thursday. Mr. Manalo is on an official visit in India from June 27 to 30.
A joint statement issued after the 5th meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation said that both Ministers expressed keen interest to continue to work together on defence cooperation, including through the regular or upgraded official-level interaction among defence agencies, opening of a resident Defence Attaché office in Manila, consideration of India’s offer for concessional Line of Credit to meet Philippines’ defence requirements, acquisition of naval assets, and expansion of training and joint exercises on maritime security and disaster response, among others.
“Maritime cooperation can take the shape of exercises related to Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA). This could be a combination of many activities. We are both maritime nations and there is great scope where we could identify various cooperative activities including, in the future, joint sales and joint patrols and exchanging information, best practices and anything to enhance MDA,” a diplomatic source said, stating that defence cooperation will continue to grow and will not be limited to equipment sales.
Cyber security cooperation
Sources said that the talks between Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Manalo looked at expanding cooperation in existing domains like the economy, defence, education, people-to-people relations, anti-terrorism measures, and maritime cooperation, and also discussed new areas including cyber security, artificial intelligence, and space cooperation.
“We have existing talks with India on anti-terrorism. This includes exchange of intelligence, and this also relates to cyber security and cyber threats. A new issue that was discussed was cyber trafficking. It is becoming a major issue for Philippines, India and also the region. Cyber trafficking is becoming a bigger and bigger issue and in the discussions, both sides agreed to cooperate on this issue,” the source said.
Stating that there are so many opportunities for defence cooperation, the source said that the Philippines could take advantage of India’s expertise in this area. The key dialogue was not only in terms of weapons, but cooperation through training courses, greater military exchanges and in future joint exercises, the source said, stressing that it was a process which would continue and not be limited to single sales of equipment.
Shared view on Indo-Pacific
“Because we both recognise and share the common approach to Indo-Pacific, for instance. Both believe that Indo-Pacific should be a region which is free and open and a region whose members promote peace and stability. So there is lot of room for us to cooperate especially in the area of defence,” the source added.
On maritime cooperation, the joint statement said that both Ministers emphasized the utility of MDA, and in this context called for early operationalisation of the standard operating procedure for the White Shipping Agreement between the Indian Navy and the Philippines Coast Guard. They looked forward to the signing of the MoU on enhanced maritime cooperation between the coast guards of the two nations, the statement noted.
In other engagements, Mr. Manalo called on the Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar, and visited the Observer Research Foundation. Speaking at the Indian Council for World Affairs (ICWA) on Wednesday, he said that the Philippines certainly hoped to develop “very robust defence arrangements” with India while noting that they have already entered some potential deals.
Economic ties
On economic cooperation, diplomatic sources said that the two sides discussed improved access to the Philippines’ markets. The Philippines also invited a number of Indian companies, especially in IT, agro-processing, copper and textiles. The two countries are also undertaking discussions to renegotiate their bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement, a source said. India is the fifteenth largest trading partner for the Philippines, with trade worth around $3 billion last year.
On regional issues, the joint statement said that the two Ministers had held wide-ranging and substantive discussions on regional and international issues of mutual concern. They underlined that both countries have a shared interest in a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, the statement said. “They underlined the need for peaceful settlement of disputes and for adherence to international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea in this regard,” it added.
In January 2022, the Philippines concluded a $375 million deal with India for the purchase of three batteries of the shore-based anti-ship variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. Deliveries are expected to begin by year-end.
