INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
India and the Philippines are set to mark 75th anniversary of their diplomatic ties next year
In an exclusive interview to TOI, Philippines foreign minister Enrique Manalo, who was on an India visit from June 27 to 30, underscores the
aggressive postures in the region
How important are these ties for the Philippines?They are very important
India has been a major partner of the Philippines in so many areas, mainly because of our commitment to democratic principles and a long
Next year will mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and PhilippinesWe are natural and traditional partners
India and the Philippines have much to offer each other
This was substantiated during my meeting with [external affairs minister] S Jaishankar (on June 29) where we went over a broad range of
In existing areas such as economic and defence, further cooperation is possible
India is our 15th largest trading partner.We also discovered new areas such cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and of course, space
where cooperation is possible.India is also an important dialogue partner within the ASEAN (the Philippines is a part of the 10-member bloc)
Next year, the Philippines will be the coordinator of the ASEAN-India dialogue.The two countries have been the victims of Chinese aggression
Do you think there is a scope for greater cooperation between New Delhi and Manila against this common adversary in the Indo-Pacific?Let me
first answer that by saying that our relationship with China is fairly extensive
We have agreed with China on many occasions that our differences in the West Philippines Sea or the South China Sea are not the sum total of
Still, we have a big challenge, which is the South China Sea.India and the Philippines are natural partners in the sense that both subscribe
prosperity of the people in the region through, mainly economic cooperation.Our bilateral relations with India in terms of maritime
cooperation also offer an opportunity to ensure that we help maintain a free and open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.Philippines is the
deal?Negotiations and other details of the BrahMos missile deal were undertaken by respective defence ministries and they are dealing with
The contract was signed last year and the delivery is expected to be made some time in the end of this year
These missiles will be used by our Navy
This is for the first time that we have made such a deal.We think this is perhaps only the beginning of further defence cooperation, not
only in terms of weapons, but also in training and best practices
This is an important event in our defence cooperation.India is reportedly appointing a defence attache in its embassy in Manila
Are there more agreements in the defence and security domain in the pipeline?During my meeting with the external affairs minister
(Jaishankar), it was confirmed that India is opening an office of defence attache in Manila very soon
areas of cooperation in defence.The India-Philipphines joint statement also focuses on cooperation in counter-terrorism
We also envisage a regular exchange of visits of counter-terrorism officials
These are the activities we can do with India as we have done with a lot of other partners.Being a member of ASEAN, how does Manila view the
current crisis of democracy in Myanmar and how soon this can be resolved
An unstable Myanmar is certainly not good for regional peace and security.The Philippines and the ASEAN are very concerned about the
situation in Myanmar, mainly because of the humanitarian crisis
The violence has not ceased and it has caused immense suffering and loss of lives.Our main goal, along with the ASEAN, is to see how we can,
exacerbate the situation.A couple of years ago, the ASEAN adopted a five-point consensus, to which Myanmar was also a party
The ASEAN remains committed to implementing the five-point consensus, which calls for a dialogue between all relevant stakeholders in
how we can provide humanitarian assistance
Nevertheless, the situation is still characterized by a lot of violence and we really remain very much concerned
the full potential of their ties despite there being shared commonalities like anti-colonialism, a democratic polity, a free press and
Your thoughts on this!My visit here [to India], in many ways, reaffirmed our [Philippines and India] commitment to try to bring our
relationship to even greater heights
As I said earlier, there are many new areas where we can enhance our cooperation.For example, we are hoping that very soon there will be a
direct flight between Manila and New Delhi
such as climate change and green economy
We share a lot of commonalities.India has a growing diaspora in the Philippines
How can the two countries leverage their people-to-people relationship?One way is to increase tourism
Besides tourism, there are so many ways to enhance people-to-people relationships
and cultures.Next year [the 75th anniversary of India-Philippines relationship], we are beginning to plan a number of events to be
spearheaded by our respective embassies to commemorate this important milestone in both the Philippines and India.
