The Philippines and India are set to conduct joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea next month, a move analysts interpret as a firm stance against China’s growing assertiveness in the region.
According to a report from New Delhi Television Ltd. over the weekend, the two countries will hold a Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) from August 4 to 8.
The development underscores deepening defense ties between Manila and New Delhi amid rising tensions in the South China Sea.
The MCA will follow a scheduled port visit of four Indian Navy warships to Manila, first announced by Indian Ambassador to the Philippines Shri Harsh Kumar Jain in a July 11 speech.
In an advisory released Wednesday, the Indian Embassy confirmed that the vessels—guided missile destroyer INS Delhi, anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kiltan, fleet tanker INS Shakti, and survey ship INS Sandhayak—will dock in Manila ahead of the joint maritime drills.
Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said of the naval visit: “We usually don’t announce the details in advance of the operation or the activity.”
“Details of that will be released the moment that they are already in the country,” Trinidad said in a regular military press conference on Tuesday.
Last year, INS Delhi, INS Kiltan, and INS Shakti also paid a goodwill visit to Manila.
This is not the first time Manila and Delhi have conducted drills in the West Philippine Sea. In 2021, both nations held joint exercises there, joined by two naval warships.
Security expert Chester Cabalza said the continuous buildup of maritime cooperation between both nations stems from “the common naval threat Manila and New Delhi are facing today.”
“It truly builds up to the strategic clarity of a pan Indo-Pacific strategy where India and the Philippines are sending a strong message to China in the South China Sea,” said Cabalza, president and founder of the Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation.
Aside from its “broader Indo-Pacific vision,” international relations expert Don McLain Gill said such cooperation aligns with India’s Act East Policy.
This Indian policy aims to strengthen its position as a regional power by fostering extensive economic and strategic relations with Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines.
“Of course, being two like-minded countries in Asia that share a common threat, but also at the same time common principles and ideals toward upholding democracy and international law, we see this as a continuation of existing efforts to bolster the growing Philippine-India partnership and hopefully toward an elevation of bilateral ties,” said Gill, a lecturer at De La Salle University’s Department of International Studies.
Gill added: “We are also likely to see more efforts in exploring ways where India can take part in the modernization of the Philippine military.”
The country has acquired its medium-range supersonic cruise missile from India called BrahMos.
BrahMos—a portmanteau of the river names Brahmaputra of India and Moskva of Russia—has a range of 290 to 400 kilometers and can travel at Mach 2.8, or nearly three times the speed of sound.
