India has noted the Philippines' "national broad security interests," that is why it is supporting the latter in boosting its "domestic industrial capacity" in terms of defense.
Indian Ambassador to Manila Shambhu Kumaran made the pronouncement on Friday, Feb. 16, at a forum hosted by his embassy to connect Indian business people and Philippine officials in the defense industries.
"We’d like to offer partnerships from India in building that capacity. So I think, looking to the future… this is a very important initiative," Kumaran said.
He said the Philippines has to devote its resources to development programs, and India is a "very good option" to help in that.
"India has a proven track record of trying to create indigenous capability to develop indigenous technology and to broad-base that into broader industrial capacities," he added.
Amid disputes in the South China Sea, which calls for the Philippines’ stronger stance over its sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea, the diplomat stressed the need for Manila to strengthen its deterrence capacity.
"I think, the objective of all countries, especially democratic countries like India and the Philippines, is to have a peaceful neighborhood. But as we all know, there are complicating factors," Kumaran said.
"So, I have spoken earlier about the fact that deterrence is only possible with with capabilities and genuine capabilities. So this is the context in which I think this discussion is happening," he added.