He pointed out that India and the Philippines share common ground on important security concerns and that the defense cooperation being pursued goes beyond simply purchasing military hardware.
Purchasing defense hardware from India is only one facet of a broader defense partnership. That is also growing and rising pretty quickly. We have military training and schooling. In an interview with ThePrint here in the nation’s capital, Ignacio said, “I am pleased to report that we have Filipino cadets in Dehradun and Chennai in Indian military academies.”
“Defence to defense and military to military dialogue, exchanges of views on issues of common concern, also play an important part in this relationship,” the Philippine ambassador continued. It gives me great pleasure to inform our viewers that the defense partnership is expanding on
The Philippines received the first shipment of launchers and missiles from India in April 2024. Ashley Tellis, a former senior advisor to the US State Department, is among the strategic security specialists who have questioned whether Manila is capable of operating such missiles.
The BrahMos missile systems are a “important element” of the country’s defense modernization strategy and deterrent capabilities, but they are only one component of its overall archipelagic defense plans, Ambassador Ignacio clarified in response.
The ambassador stated, “We are happy that India has emerged as one of those partners in our defense modernization, and we intend to work with a multitude of partners to build our deterrent capabilities.” Naturally, it extends beyond purchasing equipment; we would also
Manila has witnessed several clashes with China in the South China Sea in recent months. The Philippines reported in June that the Chinese coast guard had rammed a Filipino sailor at great speed, causing serious injuries. Beijing denied Manila’s allegations, claiming that the Philippines ship deliberately and unprofessionally approached its coast guard vehicle.
“Recently, the tensions have kind of grown really concerning. As our President has stated, the Philippines has taken steps to defuse the situation. Naturally, we are speaking with partners. An essential component of our diplomacy regarding the South China Sea problem is our relationship, communication, and exchange of opinions with allies,” the Philippine envoy stressed to
In order to provide a more comprehensive picture of the issues we face in the Indo-Pacific, he continued, “We are very happy that India is a part of that circle of our very good friends with whom we routinely share ideas and provide some information by which we can mutually benefit
The Second Thomas Shoal claims are at the center of the South China Sea tensions. China’s historical claims and actions in the area were declared illegal by an arbitral tribunal in 2016, which decided in favor of the Philippines. India agrees with Manila’s stance on the matter.
State-to-state relations, in part, mirror the psychology of the populace. Relationships are often formed and strengthened by certain similar problems and themes, and this is also true for states.
The envoy also clarified that Manila and New Delhi are seeking to strengthen their economic relations, which includes forming a working group to explore ways to expand their financial technology collaboration.
According to figures released by the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, commerce between India and the Philippines reached historic highs of $3.5 billion in the fiscal year 2023–2024. The entire proportion in India’s total trade is only 0.21 percent, despite a 15% growth from the previous year.
“[Trade ties] are relatively small compared to the US and even our ASEAN neighbors.” We recognize that we still have a lot of space to increase commerce in the medium future. We are examining several modalities for this reason. Finding complementaries has been difficult, in my opinion,” the ambassador said.
Ignacio clarified that the two nations began negotiating terms of reference for a preferential trade agreement (PTA) in 2020 in order to begin economic relations. He added that the two nations are “very close” to concluding the terms of reference talks and beginning the talks on certain “product” lines.
