MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and India are set to hold a maritime cooperative activity together in the West Philippine Sea for the first time.
Armed Forces of the Philippines chief General Romeo Brawner Jr made the announcement Thursday evening, July 31, aboard the Indian naval tanker INS Shakti, which docked at Manila's port area.
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The joint patrol will be the "first of its kind in the West Philippine Sea — a region increasingly central to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific," the AFP said in a statement on Friday, August 1.
The Philippine and Indian navies will hold the bilateral maritime activity in waters close to Scarborough Shoal next week, which also coincides with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s first visit to India since becoming president, according to a report by Indian newspaper Hindustan Times.
Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc is located well within the West Philippine Sea — the part of the South China Sea that overlaps with the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
Historic port call marks growing ties
The announcement was made during a reception hosted aboard INS Shakti at Pier 15 in Manila's Port Area on Thursday, which was held to commemorate both the Indian Navy's port call and the upcoming joint maritime activity.
"This is more than a ceremonial gesture," Brawner said in the AFP statement. "The presence of INS Shakti in Manila sends a powerful signal of solidarity, strength in partnership, and the energy of cooperation between two vibrant democracies in the Indo-Pacific."
Brawner praised the deepening defense ties between the two nations and reaffirmed their shared commitment to maritime security, regional stability, and a rules-based international order in one of the world's most geopolitically sensitive regions.
Marcos will be in India from April 4 to 8, where he is expected to discuss defense and economic ties with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other officials at the Indian capital of New Delhi.
This is the first visit by a Philippine president to India in almost two decades, with the last being former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2007.
Closer defense ties between New Delhi, Manila
In March, Brawner proposed adding India and South Korea to the informal "Squad" security alliance — a four-nation bloc that includes the United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines, formed as a counterweight to China's growing assertiveness in the region.
"We find commonality with India because we have a common enemy. And I'm not afraid to say that China is our common enemy. So, it's important that we collaborate together, maybe exchange intelligence," Brawner said in an interview at the time, according to a Reuters report.
The Philippines and India held their first-ever government-level maritime dialogue in December 2024, where they agreed to explore naval and coast guard cooperation. Both nations called for "full and faithful compliance" with the 2016 arbitration award that invalidated China's expansive nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea.