- President Marcos Jr will visit India from August 4-8 with a high-level delegation
- India and Philippines will hold their first joint maritime exercise on August 3-4
- Four Indian Navy ships will visit the Philippines from July 30 for hydrographic cooperation
Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is all set for a state visit to India in the first week of August. While President Marcos Jr visits India between August 4-8, the navies of the two countries will hold the first ever joint bilateral maritime exercise or Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) on August 3-4, according to a source.
The exercise will be held in strategic waters on the West Philippines coast facing the South China Sea and close to Scarborough Shoal.
Scarborough Shoal is hotly contested between the Philippines and China over both its sovereignty and resources - specifically, fish. It is located 200 kilometres off the Philippines coast and lies in its Exclusive Economic Zone.
However, China asserts claim over most of the South China Sea and its resources leading to friction with the Philippines. Even though China's claim was rejected under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 2016, Beijing continues to enforce its will, leading to frequent maritime and aerial encounters with Philippine forces.
In another related development, four Indian Navy ships are scheduled to make a goodwill visit to the Philippines from the 30th of July including the latest survey ship INS Sandhayak for hydrographic cooperation.
So far, the highest number of Indian naval ships that have participated has been three. The last one being seeing the guided missile destroyer INS Delhi, the anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kiltan, and the fleet tanker INS Shakti, part of the Indian Navy Eastern Fleet.
So far, India and Philippines have largely conducted passing exercises (PASSEX) but last week, the Indian ambassador to Philippines, Harsh Kumar Jain, had indicated that it was likely to be expanded to joint military exercises. He was quoted by the Philippine News Agency as saying, "Given the high importance of the maritime sector for both our countries, we can expand our cooperation to include joint exercises in maritime security and disaster response."
Meanwhile, after the purchase of the mid-range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from India, Philippines is reported to be in talks for the purchase of Akash short range missiles. Reuters had reported that the deal would be worth more than $200 million. Another lingering defence purchase, that of ALH Maritime Reconnaissance Helicopters, by the Philippines coastguard has been in discussion since 2021.
With the growing defence and maritime ties between Manila and Delhi, the bilateral relationship is expected to be elevated to the level of strategic partnership during the visit of President Marcos Jr. The President will be travelling with a high-level delegation consisting of at least 10 cabinet-level ministers including finance, defence, law and justice. President Marcos will meet Prime Minister Modi on the 5th of August, while on 7th and 8th he will be in Bangalore for business engagements.
The recent thrust on upping of military ties between India and Philippines is linked to China's domineering behaviour in the Indo-Pacific. The Philippines continues to tackle China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea not only around the Scarborough Shoal but also the Second Thomas Shoal. There have been frequent clashes around the area between China and the Philippines.
Meanwhile, India and China are only now seeking to improve ties after the 2020 Galwan clashes. However, India remains cautious. New Delhi has reiterated that resolving the border issue peacefully is important to build mutual trust.
During External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's visit to Beijing this week, where he met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, India issued a statement, stating that Jaishankar "highlighted the positive impact of peace and tranquillity in the border for the smooth development in bilateral relations."
