What you need to know 

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is in India from August 4 to 8, for a state visit meant to “further strengthen the Philippines-India partnership to proactively engage India in all aspects of the relations and seize opportunities for greater security, economic, science and technology, and people-to-people cooperation.” 

The five-day visit, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)-Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs (ASPAC)’s Assistant Secretary Evangeline Jimenez-Ducrocq, will run on a “very tight schedule.” It includes meetings with India’s President and Prime Minister, its ruling party, as well as key ministers, and businesses in New Delhi. Marcos will then travel to Bangalore for business meetings. 

“We recognize the economic and strategic potentials of India, and we hope to open up possibilities for the future,” said Ducroq in a briefing at the Palace on Friday, August 1. 

The highlight of the visit will be the inauguration of a strategic partnership between the Philippines and India. Marcos made the announcement when he met with the Filipino community on August 4. 

Once signed, India would become the fifth nation with whom the Philippines is a strategic partner, joining the likes of Japan, Vietnam, Australia, and South Korea. Of the five nations, three were made strategic partners under Marcos.

“This means that from now on, our cooperation will intensify further and become even more impactful in many areas that we have not explored with India before such as defense, trade and investment, health, tourism, and other areas,” said Marcos. 

The visit, of course, is part of the 75th anniversary of bilateral ties between the two Asian countries. 

Why is this important? 

In India, Manila could see an important partner not only in trade and business, but especially security. “I have with me several Cabinet Secretaries who will make certain that the vision of a close strategic relationship with India will turn into a reality as soon as possible, as we make our commitments at the highest levels of government and of business,” said Marcos in a speech before leaving for New Delhi on Monday, August 4. 

But what would two countries located on different sides of the Indo-Pacific get from closer ties? 

“With the Philippines being the oldest constitutional democracy in Asia, and [India being] our continent’s largest democracy, our two countries share several core interests, such as our democratic ideals, our respect for basic freedoms, and the preservation of a rules-based order in the international arena,” said Marcos in his pre-departure speech. 

Manila and New Delhi could find in each other a new partner as they both try to manage China’s actions in areas that are either disputed or that Beijing claims in full. For the Philippines, that flashpoint is the West Philippine Sea, part of the larger South China Sea which China claims in near entirety. For India, it’s been trying to manage tensions along a disputed border at Galwan in Ladakh.  

Both the Philippines and India have also been keen on expanding their network of friends and partners. 

India forms part of the QUAD — a group that includes Australia, the United States and Japan — or the quadrilateral cooperation between the four nations that’s more and more seen as an important counterbalance to China in the Indo-Pacific. 

Manila, meanwhile, is part of a much-younger and lesser-developed quadrilateral “group” that’s also composed of Australia, the United States and Japan. But the “squad,” as some have called it, has been limited mostly to discussions between defense ministers. 

New Delhi has also recently changed tune when it comes to the 2016 Arbitral Award, a landmark decision that affirmed the extent of limits of the Philippines’ EEZ in the West Philippine Sea, and called out China for restricting fishing access to features like Scarborough Shoal, among others. 

In 2016, when the ruling came out, India merely “noted” it while saying it “supports freedom of navigation and over flight, and unimpeded commerce, based on the principles of international law, as reflected notably in the UNCLOS” or the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea. 

Even then, in 2016, the South Asian nation said “it believes that States should resolve disputes through peaceful means without threat or use of force and exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that could complicate or escalate disputes affecting peace and stability.

“Sea lanes of communication passing through the South China Sea are critical for peace, stability, prosperity and development. As a State Party to the UNCLOS, India urges all parties to show utmost respect for the UNCLOS, which establishes the international legal order of the seas and oceans.”

Then in 2023, during the 5th India-Philippines Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation, then-Philippine foreign secretary Enrique Manalo and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had a “wide-ranging and substantive discussions on regional and international issues of mutual concern.” 

“They underlined that both countries have a shared interest in a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. They underlined the need for peaceful settlement of disputes and for adherence to international law, especially the UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea in this regard,” read a joint statement from both ministers. 

India has also played a part in the long-overdue modernization of the Philippine military. In early 2024, the BrahMos missile system arrived in Manila. India has been focusing on its defense industry, with a greater self-reliance goal in mind, while Manila has been aspiring to be self-reliant when it comes to defense.   

What will Marcos be doing? 

On his first day in India, Marcos met with the Filipino community — a staple in his visits abroad. There are around 1,356 registered Filipinos in India. 

Events related to the state visit all take place on Tuesday, August 5, including bilateral meetings with Indian President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the president of Bharatiya Janata Party, which leads the ruling National Democratic Alliance. Marcos is also set to meet with India’s Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda.

“In his bilateral meeting with PM Modi, the two leaders will discuss closer cooperation and economic, defense and security, political cooperation, trade, investment and economic cooperation, and how to further invigorate people-to-people exchanges. They are also expected to exchange views on regional and international issues of common concern,” said Ducrocq. 

The two countries are expected to sign agreements covering “cooperation in law, culture, science and technology, and many other areas.” 

Marcos will also meet with Indian media and deliver a foreign policy address at the Observer Research Foundation. 

In both New Delhi and Bangalore, Marcos will be holding business events. According to Ducrocq, several Indian business executives have asked to meet Marcos, “a number of whose companies are in active preparations to enter the Philippine market as investors.” 

Who is going with him? 

Marcos brings with him a rather large Cabinet delegation that includes:  

• Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro
• Finance Secretary Ralph Recto
• Agriculture Secretary Francis Laurel
• National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.
• Health Secretary Ted Herbosa
• Secretary of Trade and Industry Cristina Roque
• Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla
• Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco
• Secretary of Science and Technology Renato Solidum
• Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda
• Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac
• Overseas Workers Welfare Administration administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan

First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos is also part of her husband’s official delegation. 

Marcos is also accompanied by a business delegation for his meetings in New Delhi and Bangalore, although the full list has yet to be released to the media. – Rappler.com