Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived in India on Monday for a four-day state visit—his first official trip to the country. The visit comes at a time when India and the Philippines have launched their first-ever joint maritime exercises in the contested South China Sea.
Officials from the Philippines emphasized that President Marcos’s trip is aimed at strengthening both diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries, especially when global tensions and geopolitical uncertainty are rising. The visit is being held on the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will continue through Friday.
During the visit, President Marcos Jr. is scheduled to meet with top Indian leaders, including President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and Health Minister J.P. Nadda. He is expected to meet Jaishankar on August 4, and on August 5, he will pay tribute at Raj Ghat before holding bilateral discussions with Modi at Hyderabad House.
Marcos's trip coincides with a major milestone in India-Philippines defence cooperation the start of their first joint maritime drills in the South China Sea, a region currently under growing pressure due to increasing Chinese assertiveness.
The joint activity, officially titled a “maritime cooperative activity,” will begin on August 3, as Indian Navy ships depart from Manila Harbour.
On July 31, national security officials, diplomats, and defense representatives from both countries gathered aboard INS Shakti (A57) for a reception, where they highlighted the significance of this historic moment. One statement read: “This historic visit of the Indian naval ships and the upcoming maiden maritime cooperation activity collectively set a positive tone for the state visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to India next week, underscoring the deepening partnership and expanding cooperation between our two nations.”
Three Indian Navy vessels INS Delhi (D61), a guided missile destroyer; INS Shakti, a fleet tanker; and INS Kiltan (P30), an anti-submarine corvette docked in Manila on July 30. In addition, the surveillance ship INS Sandhayak (Yard 3025) arrived in the Philippine capital on August 1.
Highlighting the symbolism of the naval presence, Indian envoy to the Philippines Shambhu S. Kumaran remarked: “The visit of the Indian naval ships to the Philippines is a powerful testament to the enduring friendship and growing maritime cooperation between the two countries. It also symbolises our shared commitment to the freedom of navigation and a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.”
Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, General Romeo Brawner Jr., called the upcoming joint patrols “a clear demonstration of our mutual resolve to safeguard freedom of navigation and uphold the law of the sea.”
He emphasized the importance of partnerships with like-minded nations, saying: “As we stand watch over a region vital to global trade and security, we do not do so in isolation, but in partnership with nations who share our values.”
India and the Philippines have shared strong defence ties for many years. This bond deepened further when the Philippines became the first foreign buyer of the BrahMos supersonic missile system, in a $374.9 million deal signed in January 2022.
