Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo believes that the Philippines and India can expect a “very bright future” in their relations owing to the increased cooperation in recent years in the fields of defense, maritime security, and information technology, among others.
DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo speaks at the 10th Raisina Dialogue 2025 in New Delhi, India. (Photo from Sec. Manalo via X post)
“The forthcoming years I think will be better in our cooperation… I think all these have opened the door really to a very bright future in the cooperation between the Philippines and India,” he said in an interview with ANI News after attending the 10th Raisina Dialogue 2025 in New Delhi, India earlier this week.
The DFA chief also divulged hopes for President Marcos to visit India this year since the two countries will celebrate the 75th anniversary of its official relations.
Even though the two countries “have been partners for centuries,” Manalo said that “our relationship has really grown leaps and bounds” in the last four or five years.
This was especially true after the Philippines signed in January 2022 an P18.9-billion deal with BrahMos Aerospace Private Ltd.—an Indian-Russian joint venture—for three batteries of the BrahMos medium-range supersonic missile, which has a range of 290 to 400 kilometers and can travel about three times faster than the speed of sound.
The first batch of the cruise missiles was delivered in April 2024 amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea because of China’s expansive claims.
“It was a major significant development in our defense relations that certainly I think will open the door for further collaboration not only in terms of military equipment but military cooperation, training, exchanging of officers and even in terms of operational facilities,” Manalo described.
Without mentioning China, the DFA chief also assured that the Philippines and India “share similar views” on the Indo-Pacific Region that it “should be a region which is free and open and a region that contributes to peace, prosperity, and the security of our people.”
“I think we realize I said the importance of keeping this big swath of area of the world as free and open for commerce, open for freedom, and our cooperation attest to that common approach,” the official added.
Both countries have been engaged in maritime exercises with each other, he said, assuring that such activities aim for the “economic and political freedom of the Indo-Pacific.”
These activities also work to ensure that “the future of our countries in the region will not be determined by the great powers but by countries themselves in the region.”