Why enhancing people-to-people contact is necessary to boost India’s ties with the Philippines

It is evident that at the governmental level, the Philippines is reaching out to India and India is responding well

By: Gurjit Singh

The visit of Philippine Foreign Minister (Called Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Enrique Manalo to India (27-30 June) is like a breath of fresh air. The Philippines was a laggard among ASEAN countries in developing a relationship with India. Over the last two years, the relationship has intensified. The Fifth Joint Commission meeting has gone rather well.

Secretary Manalo is leading a Philippines effort to enhance its strategic, economic and political security by expanding its relations with countries in its neighbourhood and beyond. Its identification with the Indo-Pacific goals of India is remarkable and they are now studying association with the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative.

The Philippines is exhibiting a clear path forward. It sanctifies ASEAN unity and centrality, recognises that the Quad acknowledges this, and is ready to move beyond into ASEAN Plus postures. The Philippines is ready to look at new trilateral partnerships, with the US-Japan and with Japan-Australia. The Philippines evidently has no issue in dealing with Quad countries.

India is an important partner for renewed engagement through an active foreign policy. Traditionally the Indian engagement with the Philippines has been correct but lacked trade and cultural energy. This has now picked up and crossed $3 billion, small even by ASEAN standards. The Philippines is yet not a major trading partner. They continue to invite Indian investment, which is now $5 billion. There is interest in developing this but the constraints of distance, the lack of direct flights and their being a part of other supply chains are constraints.

Indian companies do not use the ASEAN India FTA well, and during the visit, a bilateral PTA was discussed. On the socio-cultural side, the Philippines is less visible in the tourism, Bollywood, Ramayana and Mahabharata engagement that India has with several ASEAN countries. However, in areas like climate change IT services in new technologies and the health sector, there is a growing interest which could contribute to greater cooperation.

The locomotive of the India-Philippines renewed relationship is the defence and security pillar. The Philippines is the first ASEAN country to place orders for the BrahMos missiles beating long-term interests from Indonesia and Vietnam. The $375 million deal has given unexpected momentum to Indo-Philippine ties and shows the seriousness with which the Philippines approaches India.

Secretary Manalo was clear during his visit that they seek a more robust defence partnership. This will not stop only at purchases and will include the acquisition of naval assets, expansion of training and joint exercises on maritime security and disaster response, among others. A follow-up to the India-ASEAN maritime exercise in which the Philippines participated may happen. The possibility of Indian patrol boats and similar equipment being looked at by the Philippines exists and as India and the Philippines have agreed to enhance cooperation on maritime security these will come to the fore.

This also means that the Philippines now accept the cooperation which the Quad offered for MDA and will form a part of further engagement with India. ‘Both Ministers emphasized the utility of maritime domain awareness, and in this context called for early operationalization of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the White Shipping Agreement between the Indian Navy (IN) and the Philippines Coast Guard (PCG). They looked forward to the signing of the MoU on Enhanced Maritime Cooperation between the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Philippines Coast Guard (PCG).’

Terrorism and transnational crimes as common security threats, an MOU on Cooperation in Preventing and Combating Terrorism and Transnational Crime is envisaged, as are a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty on Criminal Matters and a Treaty on Transfer of Sentenced Persons.

Bilaterally the Philippines looks to advance cooperation with India in the sectors of space, public health, cybersecurity and tourism. On the defence side, it would like to work more on nontraditional security threats. In 2024, India and the Philippines will celebrate 75 years of their bilateral partnership. The Philippines wants to reinvigorate all the bilateral mechanisms and celebrate that anniversary in a fitting manner.

India is ready to share its digital innovations for the benefit of local communities in the Philippines across sectors such as disaster resilience, health, water, environment protection, education and others. The ratification of the Agreement on Indian Grant Assistance for Implementation of Quick Impact Projects (QIP) in the Philippines signed in February 2023, will add a fillip to the partnership.

The Philippines is not a major player in ASEAN. It is not the current chair and does not carry the burden of current challenges to ASEAN centrality and unity. It has several direct problems with China in the South China Sea. China is critical of the Philippines for reviving the defence arrangements with the US which have brought back to life several facilities in the northern Philippines, which is closer to Taiwan.

The Philippines is clear that ASEAN Plus arrangements are not detrimental to ASEAN centrality and therefore it also recognizes that the Quad and Philippines could work together.it is evolving into a trilateral with the US and Japan.

It is conscious that all ASEAN countries do not always have the same view and consensus is difficult. That impinges on how each country reacts to the Quad as each country has reacted differently to Chinese offers under the code of conduct which is negotiated over two decades.

The Filipino economy grew at 7.6 per cent in 2022, the fastest in ASEAN and its best since 1976. The Philippines believes that with its active growth rate, as with India, the chances of economic cooperation and complementarities could improve and with a ratified Bilateral Air Services Agreement, the feasibility of a direct flight also goes up.

It is evident that at the governmental level, the Philippines is reaching out to India and India is responding well. However, at the popular level, there is still a gap because India is not a preference for people in the Philippines. In an ISEAS survey on the State of SE Asia 2023, there was little interest among Filipinos in tourism or educational exchanges with India. Yet the trust factor in India is rising.

Clearly, the effort at the level of governments and strategic coherence which is emerging around the Indo-Pacific needs to enhance people-to-people relationships, increase socio-cultural engagement and more trade ties. That will make the engagement substantive and vibrant.

The author is a former ambassador to Germany, Indonesia, Ethiopia ASEAN and the African Union. He tweets @AmbGurjitSingh. Views expressed are personal.