Modi-Marcos Meeting: Strengthening Strategic Partnership

Modi-Marcos Meeting: Key Highlights

1. What was the key outcome of the Modi-Marcos meeting in New Delhi?

India and the Philippines signed nine agreements, including one establishing a strategic partnership focused on:

• Defence cooperation
• Maritime collaboration
• Outer space collaboration

2. Why is the South China Sea central to this partnership?

The South China Sea is a contested region, especially around Scarborough Shoal. Both nations share concerns over China’s increasing assertiveness and support the peaceful use of international waters.

3. What defence cooperation is being planned?

• Naval and coast guard interoperability
• Port visits and joint exercises
• Capacity building and skill sharing
• Weapon procurement (the Philippines has bought BrahMos anti-ship missiles from India)

4. How does India benefit from this relationship?

• Strengthens the Act East Policy
• Builds a counterweight to China’s presence in the Indo-Pacific
• Expands India’s defence export market
• Gains a strategic partner in Southeast Asia

5. What economic initiatives were discussed?

• Review of the India-ASEAN free trade agreement
• Work on a bilateral preferential trade deal
• One-year visa-free facility offered to Filipinos

6. What is the broader geopolitical aim of this partnership?

The partnership supports a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific by promoting:

• Regional stability
• Secure trade routes
• Deeper defence engagement to balance power dynamics