​Mending ties: On state visit of Philippines President to India

The state visit of Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to India that ends on Friday (August 8, 2025), and his meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi provided a hard power edge to the two countries, with historical-cultural ties between them, by signing a Strategic Partnership Agreement. On his first visit to India since taking office in 2022, Mr. Marcos has taken a strong position against Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea, and has been keen to engage India more closely. Coinciding with his visit, the Indian Navy held its first joint maritime exercises with the Philippine Navy in the South China Sea area. The drills were criticised by China. India has consistently supported the 2016 UNCLOS tribunal arbitration award in favour of the Philippines, calling on China to respect the multilateral order in the Indo-Pacific, and Mr. Marcos appreciated this. Moreover, while India has signed dozens of such Partnership Agreements worldwide, for the Philippines, India is only its fifth Strategic Partner — after Japan, Vietnam, Australia, and South Korea. The Philippines is also the first export destination for the BrahMos missile, and Mr. Marcos is understood to have expressed interest in buying more Indian military hardware. The two sides signed agreements to enhance strategic cooperation, including an exchange of Terms of Reference for all three services and the Coast Guard. They also agreed to free up visas and begin direct flights. There is no substantial bilateral trade at present — $3.3 billion in 2024-25 — but investments are growing as technology and pharma companies have tied up in many areas.

The Marcos-Modi meetings sent out a more comprehensive message for India’s ties with South East Asia. The Philippines is the incoming chair for ASEAN in 2026, and the coordinator for the ASEAN-India comprehensive strategic partnership. The invitation to Mr. Marcos was also a way of easing relations that have been riled by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s unnecessarily abrasive remarks in June, where he called many ASEAN countries the “B-team of China”, and mocked the 2009 ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA). The government has since moved to fast-track talks to revise the AITIGA, with talks in Delhi next week. India and the Philippines have separately discussed launching talks for a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), indicating India’s intention to keep negotiating for a more liberalised trade regime globally even as it faces the brunt of the U.S.’s tariffs and penalties. The visit is a reminder that India’s interest in peace and security in the Indo-Pacific is not restricted to the Quad grouping, and that it is mindful of strengthening ties with all the countries in the region, especially as it essays the current geopolitical turbulence with bigger global powers.

Published – August 08, 2025 12:10 am IST

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