India backs Philippines’ national sovereignty, says Jaishankar; China bristles

NEW DELHI: India backs the Philippines in upholding its national sovereignty and seeks “staunch adherence” to a rules-based order, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday amid a flaring up of tensions between Beijing and Manila over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

Following talks with Jaishankar in Manila, Filipino secretary of foreign affairs Enrique Manalo said at a media briefing that the two sides will accelerate maritime cooperation with a dialogue which is expected to focus on marine domain awareness, shipping, search and rescue, and law enforcement.

Strategic cooperation between India and the Philippines, especially in defence and security, has grown significantly in recent years.

In 2022, Manila became the first foreign customer for the BrahMos cruise missile by inking a $375-million order for the weapon system developed by India and Russia. India and the Philippines are also part of the Indo-Pacific maritime domain awareness initiative.

Without directly naming China or referring to territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Jaishankar told the media after his talks with Manalo that all parties must adhere to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which is “the constitution of the seas”. He added: “I take this opportunity to firmly reiterate India’s support to the Philippines for upholding its national sovereignty.”

India is “deeply invested” in the region because of its Act East policy and Indo-Pacific vision and strongly supports Asean’s centrality and unity. “We are also convinced that the progress and prosperity of this region is best served by staunch adherence to a rules-based order,” he said.

Manalo said the Philippines and India are “staunch advocates” of freedom of navigation and adherence to international law, including UNCLOS and the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. This ruling declared China’s claims in the South China as unlawful.

The position of both countries was reflected during the discussions on Tuesday, “especially on recent actions of China in the West Philippines Sea”, Manalo said. The two sides have decided to accelerate maritime cooperation with discussions to be held in Manila that will look at promising areas for collaboration, such as maritime domain awareness, shipping and seafaring, search and rescue, law enforcement and environmental protection, Manalo said.

The Philippines also sees India’s defence industries playing an important role in the modernisation programme of the country’s armed forces, and priorities include education, training, research and development in support of Manila’s self-reliant defence posture, he added.

Within hours, China reacted to the comments by Jaishankar and Manalo by saying that “third parties” have no role in the disputes in the South China Sea. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing in Beijing in response to a question: “Maritime disputes are issues between the countries concerned. Third parties have no right to interfere whatsoever.”

Lin added that relevant parties should “face squarely the facts and truth on the South China Sea issue, and respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests”.

These developments come days after angry exchanges between the Philippines and China over territorial claims in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The Philippines made a strong protest over “aggressive actions” by China’s Coast Guard and maritime militia against a Filipino resupply mission, while Beijing urged Manila to behave cautiously and seek dialogue, the second such warning in three months.

Jaishankar, who is on a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia that includes Singapore and Malaysia, said India’s ties with the Philippines have grown in areas such as trade, investment, health, food security, education, science and technology, defence and maritime cooperation. Bilateral trade crossed the $3-billion mark last year and India, as the fifth largest economy, is preparing to step up its engagement with the Philippines, he said.

Both sides are moving ahead on quick impact projects in agriculture, health and capacity building, and the “growing comfort and trust” are reflected in ongoing supplies of rice from India as an exceptional measure, Jaishankar said.

Manalo said both countries are having extensive discussions on defence and security cooperation, mainly to support a rules-based order in the context of their deep interest in ensuring a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

The two sides also explored cooperation to ensure the safety of Indian and Filipino seafarers working on merchant vessels in the Red Sea in view of the current spate of attacks by Houthi rebels. Manalo expressed appreciation for the Indian Navy’s “immediate and effective response” to a distress call by the vessel MV True Confidence, which resulted in the safe return of 13 Filipino seafarers. Jaishankar noted that an Indian Coast Guard vessel was making a port call in Manila and said he had briefed Manalo about the Indian Navy’s deployments in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea to counter ongoing threats.

Jaishankar also met National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, defence secretary Gilbert Teodoro and President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos.