By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINES should use its upcoming bilateral meeting with India to expand defense cooperation and secure more military equipment, amid ongoing tensions in the South China Sea, political analysts said.
“This meeting can undoubtedly serve as an avenue for the Philippines and India to propel their defense ties, particularly in the maritime facet,” Josue Raphael J. Cortez, a diplomacy lecturer at De La Salle–College of St. Benilde, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is set to undertake a five-day official visit to India, where he is expected to meet with Indian government officials and business leaders. The visit coincides with planned joint maritime exercises near Scarborough Shoal, a disputed feature in the South China Sea.
Chester B. Cabalza, founding president of the Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, said the bilateral meeting marks a significant milestone in defense cooperation between the two countries.
“The India–Philippines meeting will be the largest set of cooperation between the two Asian democracies,” he said. “Manila will benefit from New Delhi’s rising economy and global status as a major power in the Indo-Pacific.”
He added that stronger collaboration with India signals Manila’s intention to exercise greater independence in foreign policy.
“This is also a manifestation that the Philippines is ready to work with nations, regardless of differences in memberships in minilaterals and diverse backgrounds,” he said.
The Philippines has increasingly engaged in multilateral naval activities to bolster maritime defense, including frequent joint patrols in the South China Sea with the US and other regional partners.
Mr. Cabalza noted that the Philippines already holds a strategic defense connection with India, having bought three batteries of the Indian-made BrahMos cruise missile system in 2022 for $375 million (P21.7 billion).
“The Philippines has established an acceptable leverage with India as the first buyer of BrahMos missiles in ASEAN,” he said. “This special bond… will further widen given their give-and-take relationship.”
Mr. Cortez said the bilateral meeting could facilitate discussions on military procurement, training exchanges and joint research. “The commonality that our two countries share — confronting territorial disputes with a greater power — can also be the norm-setter to shape our defense cooperation discussions,” he added.
He said Manila could propose updates to the nearly two-decade-old 2006 Philippines–India Agreement Concerning Defense Cooperation, which has enabled exchanges in training, military expertise, aircraft and naval vessels.
Mr. Cortez also said the meeting presents an opportunity to boost trade.
“We already have an existing partnership for defense, including joint patrolling,” he said. “What we can offer to India in exchange for this is an agreement where we utilize our electronic production as a leverage,” he said, referring to the Philippines’ electronics sector, one of its top exports to India.
Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $3.53 billion in 2024, according to the Indian Embassy in Manila. Philippine exports to India include electrical machinery, semiconductors, copper and precious stones, while imports from India consist of engineering goods, electronics, petroleum, steel, medicine, rice and meat.
