Philippines eyes buying more defence equipment from India

NEW DELHI: As the Indian govt prepares to host Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Manila has expressed interest in purchasing more defence equipment from India.

Defence, security and maritime cooperation are among the key pillars of the relationship and will top the agenda of Marcos' bilateral engagement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, along with trade ties.

Ahead of the president's visit, the chief of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Romeo Brawner, said the Philippines is looking to purchase more weapon systems from India, citing the quality and affordability of Indian defence equipment.

Talking about the ongoing delivery of BrahMos cruise missiles to Manila, Brawner also said two sets of the India-Russia jointly developed missile systems will arrive in the Philippines in the next few years. The Philippines' maritime dispute in the South China Sea (SCS), or what Manila calls the West Philippine Sea, has seen it scaling up defence cooperation with countries like India and Japan to blunt Chinese aggression and ensure peace and stability in the contested waters.

India will also join the Philippines this week for a joint patrol in the South China Sea. In the middle of its own border tensions with China, India in 2023 joined Manila in explicitly asking China to abide by a 2016 arbitral tribunal award that refuted Beijing's expansive claims over SCS waters. Modi and Marcos are also expected to discuss India's offer for concessional Line of Credit to meet Philippines' defence requirements, acquisition of naval assets, and expansion of training and joint exercises on maritime security.

According to Manila, six agreements in a range of areas like science and technology, law and culture are expected to be signed.

The Modi-Marcos meeting, however, takes place in the middle of efforts by both India and China to rebuild their relationship and it will be interesting to see how much play the South China Sea issue can get in the meeting. During Marcos' recent visit to the US, President Donald Trump reportedly told him he wouldn't mind if Manila got along with China.

The two countries will also discuss efforts to enhance trade ties, as they both look to conclude a bilateral trade deal with the US to avoid getting caught in the cross hairs of Trump's trade war.

While the US president has announced 25% tariffs on imports from India, he has slapped Manila with a 19% levy.

Bilateral trade crossed $3 billion for the first time in 2022-2023 and the two sides have agreed to commence negotiations for a bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement.

According to the ministry of external affairs (MEA), development cooperation is another crucial aspect of bilateral relationship.

"India is implementing six Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) in the areas of agriculture, disaster risk reduction & management, health-care and livelihood support, in the Philippines, under an MoU on Indian Grant Assistance for the implementation of QIPs, signed on Feb 7, 2023," said an official.