PH, India to Upscale Partnerships in Defense And Security

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs Ma. Theresa Lazaro and Indian Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (East) Saurabh Kumar (seated, from left) join their delegations to the 4th Philippines-India Strategic Dialogue. (DFA-OPCD Photo by Jeffrey Mendoza)

PASAY CITY 22 August 2022 – The Philippines and India agreed to build on the gains in their defense and security partnership as they convened for the 4th Philippines-India Strategic Dialogue on 18 August, hosted by the Philippines at the Department of Foreign Affairs.  

Leading the Philippine delegation was Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs, Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, while the Indian delegation was headed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary (South) Saurabh Kumar. This is the first time that the Philippine and Indian delegations had their face-to-face dialogue since the last meeting in 2017 in New Delhi.  

The officials discussed the growing cooperation between their countries on defense and security, as well as in maritime partnership. They also shared their views about the direction of Philippine-Indian cooperation on strategic matters in the next few years.
Other topics discussed in the meeting included counter-terrorism, disaster risk reduction and management, transnational crime, intelligence exchange and procurement of defense equipment, as well as the impact of regional and global developments on the two countries and the region.  

A day before the Strategic Dialogue, the delegations convened the 13th Philippines-India Policy Consultations, which took a broader view of the bilateral relationship, and tackled political, economic, and people-to-people cooperation. 

Both sides agreed to scale up cooperation in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, science and technology, culture, education, and tourism. The two officials also discussed new areas of partnership in financial technology, space cooperation, development cooperation, and renewable energy.

Recognizing their shared concerns on maritime security and the marine economy, the Philippines and India agreed to fast-track preparations for a bilateral Maritime Dialogue.

Initially, the Strategic Dialogue was known as the Security Dialogue. The formal renaming was finalized during the inaugural meeting of the Philippines-India Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation on 15 March 2011 with the agreed objective of also discussing strategic issues. The Policy Consultations between the foreign ministries, meanwhile, began on an ad hoc basis in 1994 and was later institutionalized with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Policy Consultation Talks in November 2000. END

Undersecretary Lazaro, Secretary Kumar, and their delegations during the PH-India Strategic Dialogue. (DFA-OPCD Photo by Jeffrey Mendoza)

Undersecretary Lazaro (six from left) and Secretary Kumar ( fourth from right) join their delegations to the 13th Philippines-India Policy Consultations, held a day before the Strategic Dialogue. (DFA-OPCD Photo by Jeffrey Mendoza)