India supports Philippines in upholding its national sovereignty: Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his counterpart Enrique Manalo in Manila exchanged views on global, regional and multilateral issues including Indo-Pacific, ASEAN, West Asia, Ukraine, Non-Aligned Movement and the UN
PTI
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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Enrique Manalo, in Manila, Philippines on Tuesday. PHOTO: PTI
Manila, 26 March
India firmly supports the
Philippines in upholding its national sovereignty and wants to explore new
areas of cooperation, including in defence and security, External Affairs
Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday, amid the Southeast Asian nation's maritime
dispute with China in the South China Sea.
Jaishankar's remarks came as he
held a good discussion with his counterpart Enrique Manalo in Manila. "Warm
and productive meeting with @SecManalo of Philippines. Wide-ranging discussion
on advancing ties in political, defence, security & maritime cooperation,
trade & investment, infrastructure, development cooperation, education,
digital, technology, culture and consular domains," Jaishankar posted on
X.
They also exchanged views on
global, regional and multilateral issues including the Indo-Pacific,
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), West Asia, Ukraine, Non-Aligned
Movement and the UN. "As two democracies committed to a rules-based order,
look forward to intensifying our cooperation," he said.
Addressing a joint press conference
with Manalo, Jaishankar said: "I take this opportunity to firmly reiterate
India's support to the Philippines for upholding its national sovereignty. As
the world changes, it is essential that India and the Philippines cooperate
more closely to shape the emerging world, he said.
Every country has the right to
uphold and enforce its national sovereignty, he said in response to a question.
"That is something that we have also discussed," he added. There has
been very perceptible growth in bilateral ties between India and the
Philippines recently, the minister said.
On a question on India's plans to
expand the defence cooperation with the Philippines amid development in the
South China Sea, Jaishankar said: "You need to look at that cooperation on
its own merits. It is not necessarily linked to a particular situation. But
it's natural today that two countries whose trust and comfort is growing so
rapidly that we will look at various new areas of cooperation. And certainly
defence and security is one of them," he said.
China claims most of the South
China Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have
counterclaims. China has deployed hundreds of coastguard vessels throughout the
South China Sea to patrol what it considers its waters, despite a 2016
Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in a case brought by the Philippines that
said the claim had no basis under international laws.
Manalo said the Philippines
consistently reaffirmed the need to abide by international law and also for
international rules and regulations when it comes to the maritime area. Speaking
about Beijing's recent activities in the South China Sea, he accused China of
trying to prevent Philipino ships from supplying its troops.
"India and the Philippines
have a very deep interest in ensuring a free open and inclusive Indo-Pacific
Ocean and in this region. And it is in this context that we are having
extensive discussions regularly on defence cooperation, and security cooperation,
mainly also with a view to supporting an international rules-based order,"
Manalo said.
Jaishankar said every country has
an interest in maritime security and safety. "In our case probably it is
more than many other countries normally would have," he said. "As our
relationship goes, as I pointed out it was natural to look at defence and
security," he said.
The partnership between India and
the Philippines also has a larger context in terms of the engagement with the
ASEAN. "As a nation deeply invested in this region, because of its Act
East Policy and Indo-Pacific region, India follows all developments with great
interest. We are strongly supportive of ASEAN centrality, cohesion, and
unity," he said. Jaishankar said as the two nations move towards the 75th
anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, he is confident that
there is much more that awaits them.
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