India’s Minister of External Affairs Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar flew to Manila after meeting his counterparts from the United States, Japan, and Australia known as Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in Melbourne.
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Jaishankar met with DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. Monday morning and discussed a range of bilateral, regional and global issues. The statement did not mention if India has invited the Philippines to become a member of the Quad.
The Quad, once a moribund talk shop, resurrected into a formal grouping in 2017 after bilateral disputes intensify between China and India, Australia and Japan. In a statement after the Melbourne conference, the Quad foreign ministers specifically mentioned the importance of maritime security in the prosperity and development of the Indo-Pacific region.
“We (The Quad) reiterate the importance of adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to meet challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the South and East China Seas,” the Quad ministers said.
To operationalize this, the US, Japan, Australia and India have committed to help in the capacity-building and technical assistance to increase awareness on maritime domain, develop offshore resources, ensure freedom of navigation and overflight, combat illegal fishing and promote safety and security of sea lines of communication.
The DFA mentioned Locsin and Jaishankar have discussed how both countries can cooperate on defense and security but failed to expound on the matter.Jaishankar tweeted: “We are entering a new phase of our partnership. Its basis is the mutuality of national security and development aspirations. Our conversation covered a range of issues dealing with both.
“The visit came a few weeks after the Philippines bought India’s Brahmos supersonic cruise missile as deterrence to foreign attacks at Philippine maritime zones. Defense analysts have pointed to the US$375 million Brahmos sale of as a key strategic turning point on Quad’s potential to help the Philippines defend its maritime regime from China’s island-building expansion in the South China Sea. Locsin had earlier expressed openness for the Philippines to participate in Quad discussions and decision-making “if invited.”
“What is critical for us is the Quad’s affirmation of Asean’s centrality and the clear understanding that either Asean as a whole or any Asean member state may be deemed included in Quad’s initiatives unless they have participated as whole or individually and concurred in its decisions or if it is expanded into a Pentagon or Hexagon until it is shy of completing a circle of international felicity,” Locsin said in a recorded video message at the Raising Dialogue in April 16, 2021.
During his brief visit, Jaishankar also met with Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. “A good discussion on national security challenges and expanding defense cooperation,” Jaishankar said in his tweet.
Locsin and Jaishankar also discussed cooperation in health, trade and investments, science and technology and tourism. They also exchanged views on current regional and global issues, the DFA added.”The two foreign ministers also discussed the impact of COVID-19 in the region and how the Philippines and India could work together to promote economic recovery during the pandemic,” the DFA said.
There are an estimated 1,300 Filipinos working and residing in India, while there are more than 120,000 Indian nationals who have made the Philippines their home.
Jaishankar’s visit is his first to the Philippines. He also met with Finance Minister Carlos Dominguez and Agriculture Secretary William Dar, and met the Indian community in Manila separately.