Strategic Deepening of Indo Philippines Ties
It has been reported that the Philippines has decided to buy at least seven Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and eight Dornier 228 aircraft from India. Both countries also signed the “Implementing Agreement” in March, 2021 which will facilitate arms purchases between them. Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had conveyed that his country was also interested in buying the BrahMos missiles from India. This will fortify Phillippines bulwark against any bullying tactics of the Chinese in future.
India’s INS RANVIJAY and INS KORA were deployed in the Pacific in August 2021 for a maritime partnership exercise with the Philippines’ BRP Antonio Luna in the West Philippine Sea. Many operational manoeuvres in the exercise allowed for greater interoperability between the two navies.
There are other defence items like the Akash missiles, Tejas Mk1 fighters, LCU Mk4, Corvettes and Frigates which the Philippines may be interested because of unbeatable qualities and very competitive pricing.
In 2020, the Philippines’ Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr. and our minister Shri S Jaishankar had chaired a joint commission on bilateral cooperation and decided to strengthen defence engagements, maritime cooperation and defence training. They had also agreed to cooperate on counter-terrorism and information sharing, among other different areas such as tourism.
Even the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has been coordinating with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) to promote bilateral trade and business ties. A preferential trade agreement (PTA) between the two countries, which will boost the value and volume of bilateral trade, may soon see the light of the day. Last year, the Philippines’ imports from India stood at $1.51 billion and exports to India amounted to $547.98 million. Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said that there was huge potential for greater economic exchange between the two countries.
It seems INDIA’s Act East policy is taking strides in matching the rhetoric put out for so long. India has deliberately engaged with partners in the Pacific where potential for strategic cooperation had remained unexploited. The Philippines is one such ASEAN country with which India’s recent engagements have seen considerable improvement. India and the Philippines are both vibrant democracies with large demographic capacities. The strategic calculations in Manila seem to have found that New Delhi is willing to take on China not only in Dokalam, Ladhak, Maldives but match it wherever required, even in the rest of Indian Ocean Region and the Into Pacific.
