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Pres. BongBong Marcos strikes defense deals in India

by Agence France Presse

New Delhi, India: The Philippines and India signed a raft of security deals Tuesday aimed at strengthening strategic ties between the nations as they navigate tensions with China across the Asia-Pacific.

President Ferdinand Marcos, on a five-day visit to India, was accorded a red carpet welcome and honour guard before he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

The leaders agreed deals including bolstering ties between their respective armed forces — the army, and air force as well as their navies — with Indian warships currently taking part in patrols of the disputed South China Sea with their Philippine counterparts for the first time.

The Philippines has heightened defence cooperation with a range of allies over the past year after a series of clashes with China in the contested waterway.

“India and the Philippines are friends by choice and partners by destiny,” Modi told Marcos in a speech. “From the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, we are untied by shared values.”

Marcos’ visit follows the Philippines’ acquisition of India’s BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system — the first such export by New Delhi — with deliveries beginning in April under a $375 million deal signed in 2022.

Marcos said the two sides engaged in “far-reaching, productive and forward looking” discussions.

“We expressed satisfaction over the rapid pace of the Philippines’ ongoing defence modernisation and the expanding capabilities… of India’s indigenous defence industry as a partner in this undertaking, exemplified by our BrahMos project,” he said.

India is a member of the Quad group, which includes fellow democracies the United States, Japan and Australia.

Beijing has repeatedly alleged that the four-way partnership, first conceived by late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, was created as a way of containing China.

Talks also included setting out the terms of reference for the negotiations on a “preferential trade agreement” between Manila and New Delhi.

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