- Saturday, April 27, 2024
The diplomat’s words come amid the Philippines’ maritime dispute with China in South China Sea.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Tuesday (26) said New Delhi firmly backs the Philippines in upholding its national sovereignty and wants to explore new areas of cooperation with the South-east Asian archipelago, including in areas such as defence and security.
The diplomat’s words come amid the Philippines’ maritime dispute with China, 32 times bigger than its size, in the South China Sea. He held talks with his Filipino counterpart Enrique Manalo in Manila, calling them “warm and productive”. Jaishankar is currently on a five-day visit to Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia beginning March 23.
“Warm and productive meeting with @SecManalo of Philippines. Wide-ranging discussion on advancing ties in political, defence, security & maritime cooperation, trade & investment, infrastructure, development cooperation, education, digital, technology, culture and consular domains,” Jaishankar, who also met the president of the Philippines, Bongbong Marcos, posted on X.
Read: India’s Jaishankar rejects China’s claims on Arunachal Pradesh as ‘ludicrous’
Warm and productive meeting with @SecManalo of Philippines.
Wide ranging discussion on advancing ties in political, defense, security & maritime cooperation, trade & investment, infrastructure, development cooperation, education, digital, technology, culture and consular… pic.twitter.com/NLf557FFs3
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (Modi Ka Parivar) (@DrSJaishankar) March 26, 2024
The two leaders also exchanged views on global, regional and multilateral issues including the Indo-Pacific, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, West Asia, Ukraine, Non-Aligned Movement and the UN.
Read: Jaishankar meets team from Gimhae, twin city of India’s Ayodhya, in South Korea
“As two democracies committed to a rules-based order, look forward to intensifying our cooperation,” he said.
Honoured to call-on President @bongbongmarcos of the Philippines. Conveyed the personal greetings of President @rashtrapatibhvn and PM @narendramodi.
Valued his warm sentiments towards the 🇮🇳 🇵🇭 partnership. His guidance for taking it to new areas will strengthen collaboration… pic.twitter.com/DbpwcktMeG
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (Modi Ka Parivar) (@DrSJaishankar) March 26, 2024
Addressing a joint press conference with Manalo, Jaishankar said, “I take this opportunity to firmly reiterate India’s support to the Philippines for upholding its national sovereignty. As the world changes, it is essential that India and the Philippines cooperate more closely to shape the emerging world, he said. Every country has the right to uphold and enforce its national sovereignty, he said in response to a question.
“That is something that we have also discussed,” he added.
There has been very perceptible growth in bilateral ties between India and the Philippines recently, the minister said. On a question on India’s plans to expand defence cooperation with the Philippines amid development in the South China Sea, the diplomat said, “You need to look at that cooperation on its own merits. It is not necessarily linked to a particular situation.
“But it’s natural today that two countries whose trust and comfort is growing so rapidly that we will look at various new areas of cooperation. And certainly defence and security is one of them,” he said.
China claims most of the South China Sea while countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims. China has deployed hundreds of coastguard vessels throughout the South China Sea to patrol what it considers its waters, despite a 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in a case brought by the Philippines that said the claim had no basis under international laws.
Manalo said the Philippines consistently reaffirmed the need to abide by international law and also for international rules and regulations when it comes to the maritime area. Speaking about Beijing’s recent activities in the South China Sea, he accused China of trying to prevent Filipino ships from supplying its troops.
“India and the Philippines have a very deep interest in ensuring a free open and inclusive Indo-Pacific Ocean and in this region. And it is in this context that we are having extensive discussions regularly on defence cooperation, and security cooperation, mainly also with a view to supporting an international rules-based order,” Manalo said.
Jaishankar said as the two nations move towards the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, he is confident that there is much more that awaits them.
(With PTI inputs)
