Latest news with #PhilippineNavy
The Star
30 minutes ago
- Business
- The Star
Philippines' Marcos eyes India trade, defence in talks with Modi
MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr (pic). will discuss trade and defense relations with India when he meets with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a state visit to the South Asian nation next week. "They are also expected to exchange views on regional and international issues of common concern,' Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Evangeline Ong Jimenez-Ducrocq said in a briefing on Friday (Aug 1). Marcos' trip to India is set on Aug. 4-8 upon Modi's invitation. "We recognise the economic and strategic potentials of India, and we hope to open up possibilities for the future,' Jimenez-Ducrocq said. Marcos' efforts to expand economic cooperation with India, one of the world's largest and fastest-growing economies, come amid the implementation of US President Donald Trump's tariffs this month. The 19 per cent tariff imposed on Philippine goods is on par with many other South-East Asian nations, removing a trade advantage that Manila had touted when the US initially threatened a 17 per cent levy in April, which was among the lowest rates in the region that time. The US levy on India's goods is set at 25 per cent. Marcos' visit to India also comes at a time when the two nations - which face a similar security concern - are improving defence ties. Manila has a territorial dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea while New Delhi has a border row with China over the Himalayas. The Philippine and Indian navies are set to hold joint maritime exercises in waters facing the South China Sea from Sunday, Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner Jr. told reporters on Thursday evening. Brawner said Manila is looking at ordering more weapons systems and equipment from India. The Philippines previously procured a shore-based anti-ship missile system from India's BrahMos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd., a contract worth 18.9 billion pesos (US$324 million), as the nation boosts its coastal defense. "We still have two sets of BrahMos systems that will arrive in the next few years,' Brawner said, adding that other weapons systems of the Philippine Navy are also from India. "We found out that what's made in India are of high quality but not too costly. So it's good if we partner with India.' - Bloomberg
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Business Standard
32 minutes ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Philippines' Marcos eyes India trade, defence in talks with PM Modi
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will discuss trade and defence relations with India when he meets with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a state visit to the South Asian nation next week. 'They are also expected to exchange views on regional and international issues of common concern,' Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Evangeline Ong Jimenez-Ducrocq said in a briefing on Friday. Marcos' trip to India is set on Aug. 4-8 upon Modi's invitation. 'We recognise the economic and strategic potentials of India, and we hope to open up possibilities for the future,' Jimenez-Ducrocq said. Marcos' efforts to expand economic cooperation with India, one of the world's largest and fastest-growing economies, come amid the implementation of US President Donald Trump's tariffs this month. The 19 per cent tariff imposed on Philippine goods is on par with many other Southeast Asian nations, removing a trade advantage that Manila had touted when the US initially threatened a 17 per cent levy in April, which was among the lowest rates in the region that time. The US levy on India's goods is set at 25 per cent. Marcos' visit to India also comes at a time when the two nations — which face a similar security concern — are improving defense ties. Manila has a territorial dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea while New Delhi has a border row with China over the Himalayas. The Philippine and Indian navies are set to hold joint maritime exercises in waters facing the South China Sea from Sunday, Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner Jr. told reporters on Thursday evening. Brawner said Manila is looking at ordering more weapons systems and equipment from India. The Philippines previously procured a shore-based anti-ship missile system from India's BrahMos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd., a contract worth 18.9 billion pesos ($324 million), as the nation boosts its coastal defense. 'We still have two sets of BrahMos systems that will arrive in the next few years,' Brawner said, adding that other weapons systems of the Philippine Navy are also from India. 'We found out that what's made in India are of high quality but not too costly. So it's good if we partner with India.'
GMA Network
2 hours ago
- Business
- GMA Network
PH, Indian navies to hold first WPS joint sail
The Philippine Navy and Indian Navy are set to conduct its first joint maritime cooperative activity in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Friday. In a statement, the AFP said "the joint activity will be the first of its kind in the West Philippine Sea—a region increasingly central to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific." Indian naval tanker INS Shakti made a port call at Pier 15 in Port Area, Manila on Thursday. "This is more than a ceremonial gesture. The presence of INS Shakti in Manila sends a powerful signal of solidarity, strength in partnership, and the energy of cooperation between two vibrant democracies in the Indo-Pacific," AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said. For the AFP, the visit of INS Shakti marks an enhancement of defense diplomacy as India continues to expand its naval engagements in Southeast Asia. Brawner commended the deepening defense ties between the two countries. He also reaffirmed the country's shared commitment to maritime security, regional stability, and a rules-based international order in one of the world's most geopolitically sensitive regions, according to the AFP. The AFP's announcement comes days ahead of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s state visit to the Republic of India from August 4 to 8. Last February, Reuters quoted Indian sources as saying that India expects to sell short-range missiles to the Philippines this year in a deal worth more than $200 million. The Akash missile system, developed by India's defense research body, has drawn interest from the Philippines, which has told New Delhi it would make an order in the fiscal year that begins in April, said three sources. The deal would follow India's $375-million sale of the mid-range BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines in 2022. The missile system was delivered to the Philippine Marine Corps in April 2024, while the ground system was sent a month earlier. The purchase comes at a time when Manila is building its military strength as tension escalates with Beijing on overlapping claims in the busy waterway of the South China Sea, where the two have clashed in recent years. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
Newsweek
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
China Warns US Ally in Sea Dispute
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Beijing has pushed back after the Philippines' defense chief accused China of "aggression" in the South China Sea. "The Philippine side's remarks are a complete distortion of black and white, and a case of shifting blame onto others," Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang told reporters. Newsweek reached out to the Philippine Armed Forces and the Chinese Foreign Ministry with written requests for comment. Why It Matters China asserts sovereignty over most of the islands, reefs, and shoals of the resource-rich South China Sea, putting it at odds with competing claims from several neighboring countries. Beijing has dismissed as invalid a 2016 ruling by a Hague-based arbitral tribunal that rejected its expansive territorial claims. Under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Philippines has stepped up its challenge to China's expanding presence in its exclusive economic zone. The dispute has led to clashes and driven the U.S. defense treaty ally to significantly boost security ties with Washington and, increasingly, other partners in the Asia-Pacific. Philippine Marines patrol the shores of West York Island, one of the islands occupied by the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea, on June 5, 2025, while Philippine Navy ship BRP Andres Bonifacio is... Philippine Marines patrol the shores of West York Island, one of the islands occupied by the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea, on June 5, 2025, while Philippine Navy ship BRP Andres Bonifacio is anchored nearby. More Ted Aljibe/AFP via Getty Images What To Know During the Defense Ministry's press briefing on Wednesday, Zhang responded to Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro's remark in a recent interview that China's behavior was behind a "major shift" in defense policy—one that has forced the Philippine armed forces to make external security their focus. "The territorial scope of the Philippines has long been determined by a series of international treaties, and China's South China Sea Islands are outside the territory of the Philippines," Zhang stated. He called the Philippines' occupation of certain features in the contested Spratly Islands "illegal," and accused the country of harassing China's maritime forces. The official also rebuked the Philippines for "catering to extraterritorial forces to stir up chaos in the South China Sea," a swipe at Manila's increasing defense cooperation with partners such as the U.S., Japan, Australia, and India. During his Monday interview with local media, Teodoro doubled down on the Marcos administration's pushback. "As you know, the president's statements were we would be unyielding and resistant to Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea. And we've been gearing up towards that mission," he said, using the Philippines' term for the part of the South China Sea within its maritime zone. The country has been "very proactive" in working with its partners and strengthening alliances to uphold international law and UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), he said. Teodoro said he'd be skeptical about any good-faith gestures from China until the country renounces its so-called nine-dashed line, echoing remarks made to Newsweek in June, where he pointed to a "deficit of trust" with Beijing. China's nine-dashed line is an invisible, unilateral demarcation that forms the basis for Beijing's sweeping claims. What People Are Saying MaryKay Carlson, U.S. ambassador to the Philippines, said at a forum earlier this month: "As we have often heard President Marcos say, economic security is national security. For the past eight years, the Arbitral award has been a linchpin in the Philippines' national security vision for a peaceful and prosperous archipelagic nation, one that the United States steadfastly supports." Beijing-based South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative, in a recent report, wrote of the 2016 arbitral ruling: "Historical records and maps consistently show that China exercised a long-standing presence and influence over features and routes in the South China Sea. "Rejecting these rights as 'non-legal' is to impose a singular, Western-centric framework and to delegitimize alternative narratives of maritime order." What Happens Next Neither Beijing nor Manila is expected to cede ground in their long-running territorial dispute. Next week, vessels of the Indian Navy will join their Philippine counterparts for a series of joint exercises, in an overt expression of support by New Delhi.
India.com
18 hours ago
- Business
- India.com
China in tension as President of BrahMos-buying country to visit India for..., aims to boost defence ties with...
New Delhi: Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr is expected to visit India from August 4 to 8. The visit is significant as this would mark Marcos's first visit to India since taking the oath as the Philippines' President. The visit can prove to be crucial in expanding defence deals between both countries. The Ministry of External Affairs informed that President Marcos will be accompanied by First Lady Madame Louise Araneta Marcos. A high-level delegation, including cabinet ministers, other dignitaries, and business representatives, will also accompany the Philippines President during his crucial meetings with Indian leaders. Talks On Brahmos Missile It is expected that talks can be held regarding the purchase of BrahMos missile and further expanding bilateral and defence relations between India and the Philippines. It is noteworthy that Philippines is the first foreign buyer of India's BrahMos missiles. India handed over to the Philippines the first consignment of BrahMos in April last year. Indian Ships Stop At The Port Of Philippines Indian naval vessels have consistently visited ports in the Philippines and have conducted ship repairs for Vietnam. Additionally, the Indian Navy and the Philippine Navy are collaborating on hydrographic initiatives. India has maintained a strong position regarding the principles of maritime freedom and territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea area. Philippines Wants Stronger Cooperation With India In 2024, Marcos Jr, while addressing a gathering at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, stated that the Philippines is ready to cooperate more strongly with India. He stated his country is keen to attract more and more Indian tourists, and for that, it has introduced a free travel visa. Direct flights are also expected to start again in the last quarter of the year. With this, bilateral trade between the two countries has steadily increased to reach USD3.5 billion in 2023-24.
