New Delhi: India and the Philippines agreed to further expand collaboration in areas such as defence and security, trade, space, railway infrastructure and financial technologies following a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on the sidelines of the BRICS Leaders’ Summit on Sunday here.
However, there was no mention of discussions surrounding the South China Sea in a readout released by the Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday. In the last two years, the Chinese coast guard and the Philippine Navy have had a number of skirmishes in the South China Sea, as the two countries continue to claim parts of the area as their own exclusive economic zone.
Modi met Marcos Jr. on the margins of the BRICS leaders’ summit Sunday following the outreach session held earlier in the morning.
“The leaders expressed satisfaction at the progress made in bilateral cooperation across all areas and agreed to further deepen and expand collaboration in the fields of defence and security, trade and investment, space, railway infrastructure, fintech, education, tourism, science and technology, innovation and people-to-people ties,” the Ministry of External Affairs statement said.
The statement added, “The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest and reiterated their commitment to strengthening cooperation across all areas of the Strategic Partnership.”
The Philippines had purchased the shore-based variant of the BrahMos anti-ship cruise missile from India in 2022 in a deal worth $374.96 million. The delivery of the launch systems began in April 2024, as reported by ThePrint.
Since then, the two countries have expanded defence ties. In August 2025, ships from the Eastern Fleet of the Indian Navy concluded an operational deployment in Southeast Asia with a port of call at Manila. The two Navies also conducted bilateral exercises between the end of July and early August – a first – highlighting the growing convergence of strategic interests.
The lack of any mention of the need to maintain international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is notable, as India has consistently backed the Philippines on the issue surrounding the South China Sea.
Manila won an arbitral award from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2016, which invalidated Beijing’s claims to parts of the South China Sea under UNCLOS. India backed the Philippine position on the issue in 2024.
The issue found mention in the Joint Statement issued by the two leaders last August during the Philippine President’s state visit to India.
“Reaffirming full respect and adherence to international law, particularly on the rights and obligations of States under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and its dispute settlement mechanisms, including on the geographic and substantive limits of maritime entitlements, the duty to protect and preserve the marine environment, as well as reaffirming the freedom of navigation and overflight, and the importance of unimpeded commerce based on the principles of international law, as reflected notably in UNCLOS,” the 2025 Joint Statement said.
President Xi Jinping of China travelled to New Delhi Saturday to attend the BRICS leaders’ summit – his first visit to India since the militaries of the two countries clashed at Galwan in the summer months of 2020. Xi last travelled to India in 2019.
Modi met Xi late Saturday evening, as both leaders continue to focus on stabilisation in ties. Both Xi and Marcos Jr. attended the outreach summit of the BRICS Sunday morning, with both leaders standing for the group photo.
Marcos Jr. was invited to attend the BRICS Summit, as it is the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Philippines joined the India-led Coalition of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) on Saturday. The organisation is an international coalition of countries and a number of international and private organisations set up in 2019 to promote disaster-resilient infrastructure.
India-Philippines ties: India Philippines relations, defence cooperation, strategic partnership, bilateral ties.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also read: India, Philippines elevate ties to strategic partnership; Modi renews push for ASEAN FTA review