By Tony Lopez
The Philippines and India have upgraded their relationship into the strategic level.
In diplomacy and security language, strategic means close and long-term. It means shared values and a common geography, if not destiny; deep if not ancient historic and cultural ties; mutually beneficial and expanded economic ties, trade, and technology cooperation; and in a world of increasing instability, rising geopolitical tensions, and unpredictable regional disputes, defense, security, and military alliances. Long-term, of course means a period of five years and up to forever.
A strategic Philippine-India partnership is crucial, at least on three fronts—military, technology and cyber space, and food.
India has the world’s best supersonic missiles, the BrahMos. The weapon can be launched from submarines, ships, on land, and fighter aircraft, has 3x the speed of sound, and a range of 300 kms (it can reach Mischief Reef and Scarborough Shoal in minutes, if not seconds, with China unable to react), and deadly accuracy. In January 2022, the Philippines contracted to buy three batteries worth $375 million. Manila wants to be buy more, worth $200 million.
The BrahMos missiles are on top of the Tomahawk missiles the US has parked in northern Philippines.
Manila and Delhi are working on the interoperability of their armed forces through port calls, joint activities and capacity-building in the maritime domain.
“We expressed satisfaction over the rapid pace of the Philippines’ ongoing defense modernization and expanding capabilities and footprints of India’s indigenous defense industry as a partner in this undertaking, exemplified by our BrahMos project,” President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said, visiting India Aug. 4 to 8.
PH to buy submarines
Additionally, Manila wants to buy two submarines, preferably from South Korea.
With Filipinos hardly noticing, the Philippines is becoming a regional military power, thanks to increasing Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
During President Marcos’s five-day India state visit, one notable deal was on a sovereign data cloud. It should enhance the Philippines’ cyber security infrastructure amid an increasing cyber security threat, again from China.
Rice
India will also sell ultra-low-sugar rice—good for Filipinos 12 million of whom are senior citizens, many with elevated sugar problem.
The world’s largest in population and the fourth largest economy, India is the world’s largest producer of milk and the second largest producer of rice (21.5% of global production and largest in area planted with rice), wheat, sugarcane, groundnut, vegetables, fruit and cotton.
Trade agreement
In the near term, Manila and New Delhi will work out a preferential trade agreement. Trade between the two countries is not that big, yet, only $3.3 billion.
During his India visit, 13 partnership documents were signed, to further trade and investments, health and tourism linkups, and defense capability between the two countries.
“Today our relationship entered a new epoch as Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and I formally launched the strategic partnership between the Philippines and India. For the Philippines, this is a momentous decision, for we take a very considered path to such elevated partnerships,” Marcos enthused, after his bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
2025-2029 action plan
A five-year 2025-2029 action plan makes flesh to the strategic partnership declaration. Other agreements signed: Terms of reference for staff talks between the Philippine and Indian air forces, armies and navies; treaties on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and on the transfer of sentenced persons; programs of cooperation on science and technology and tourism; a memorandum of understanding on digital technologies; a statement of intent on peaceful uses of outer space; an agreement for enhanced maritime cooperation between coast guards and a cultural exchange program.
What is an strategic partnership
Among academics, a strategic alliance has four Cs—complementarities, congruence of goals, compatibility, and change. In the Indo Pacific, with climate change and China, two Cs can be added – climate change and China.
The United States is the Philippines’ longest and most enduring strategic partnership in Asia.
India is the fifth country with which the Philippines has forged a strategic partnership, according to President Marcos Jr., after Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, and Australia. There is a common thread among these five—political, territorial, and security disputes with China, today, the world’s largest military and biggest economy in purchasing power parity.
The US, India, Japan and Australia are members of the so-called Quad formed at the 2017 Manila ASEAN Summit to counter China militarily in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly in the South China Sea. Amid the Covid pandemic in 2019, South Korea and Vietnam were invited to the Quad Plus meetings.
What is Indo-Pacific
The concept of the Asia Pacific has largely been expanded into what is now Indo-Pacific, comprising the topical waters of the Indian Ocean, the central and western Pacific Ocean and the seas connecting the two. The ASEAN, which includes the Philippines, is said to be at the center of the political Indo-Pacific.
The US launched its Indo-Pacific strategy in 2021 in response to the rise of China as an economic, military, and geopolitical power. The US considers itself an Indo-Pacific power.
Indo-Pacific largest region
The US defines the Indo-Pacific as stretching from its Pacific coastline to the Indian Ocean.
“The Indo-Pacific is home to more than half of the world’s people, nearly two-thirds of the world’s economy, and seven of the world’s largest militaries.” More members of the U.S. military are based in the region than in any other outside the United States. It supports more than three million American jobs and is the source of nearly $900 billion in foreign direct investment in the United States. “In the years ahead, as the region drives as much as two-thirds of global economic growth, its influence will only grow—as will its importance to the US,” says a US government paper. President Trump recognizes the Indo-Pacific as the world’s center of gravity.
The US is increasing its engagement and security presence in the Indo-Pacific primarily to counter China. “The PRC is combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological might as it pursues a sphere of influence in the Indo-Pacific and seeks to become the world’s most influential power. The PRC’s coercion and aggression spans the globe, but it is most acute in the Indo-Pacific,” says a Biden White House paper.
Rule of law in the Indo-Pacific
Marcos and Modi tackled the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific.
“Prime Minister Modi and I have committed to bring our collaboration to bear on shared concerns: a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, security and rule of law in the maritime commons, supply chain resilience, food security, countering terrorism and other traditional and non-traditional threats,” Marcos said.
“Relative to the maritime sphere, I thank Prime Minister Modi once again for India’s support for the peaceful settlement of disputes and adherence to international law, especially the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and the 2016 award in the South China Sea arbitration,” the President added.
The 2016 arbitral award invalidated China’s sweeping claims of nine-dash line in the South China Sea covering more than three million square kms of strategic waters, 85% of the South China Sea.
The Hague also affirmed the Philippines’ sovereign rights over its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. Beijing rejects the ruling.
Marcos, who will chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year, thanked Modi for supporting ASEAN’s unity and centrality as well as the Philippines’ upcoming chairmanship.
The two leaders agreed to boost collaboration in defense and security, including mechanisms for service-to-service talks, information sharing and training exchanges.
Marcos and Modi also instructed their economic teams to keep trade on an upward trajectory and expand the basket of goods exchanged.
“We have decided to expedite the work that we are doing to forge a bilateral preferential trade agreement. We look at leveraging mutual opportunities to boost two-way investment,” Marcos said.