India renews offer to finance Philippine defense upgrade with line credit.
Acknowledging their “shared interest in a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region,” the Indian government has once again extended a loan offer to help finance the Philippines’ defense requirements.
This took place during the fifth installment of the India-Philippines Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) where Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and his counterpart Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar agreed on increased bilateral cooperation and discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the Philippines and India expressed their interest in enhancing defense collaboration through official-level interactions, which include India’s concessional Line of Credit to fulfill the Philippines’ defense needs, acquiring naval assets, expanding joint exercises and intensifying training in maritime security and disaster response.
The two foreign ministers also discussed the opening of an Indian defense attaché in Manila, which was first suggested during the 4th Philippines-India Joint Defense Cooperation Committee (JDCC) on March 31.
With an Indian defense attaché in Manila, the Indian government will be able to deploy an envoy to the Philippines who will be on top of defense arrangements and security developments.
According to the joint statement, the two foreign ministers also “underlined the need for peaceful settlement of disputes and for adherence to international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea in this regard.”
The UNCLOS is the international regime for the oceans that “recognizes the establishment of various maritime zones and jurisdiction of coastal states, including its own over which sovereignty and appurtenant sovereign rights can be exercised.”
The international convention, which has been hailed as “the constitution of the ocean,” has been invoked by the Philippine government in its previous assertions of jurisdiction over parts of the West Philippine Sea.
The loan offer for the Philippines’ defense needs was first made in 2018 when then-Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana visited India in 2018, according to a Philippine News Agency report that quotes India Ambassador to the Philippines Shambhu Kumaran.
In line with the Philippines and India’s increased maritime cooperation, the two foreign ministers also discussed the prompt operationalization of the Standard Operating Procedure for the White Shipping Agreement between the Philippines Coast Guard and the Indian Navy, including the signing of the memorandum of understanding on Enhanced Maritime Cooperation between them.
The two foreign ministers also discussed the possible early conduct of negotiations for a bilateral Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty on Criminal Matters and a Treaty on Transfer of Sentenced Persons. The first round of talks is expected to be held in the Philippines in August 2023.
Source: philstar
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