Saturday 30 / August / 2025
India and the Philippines conducted their first joint naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea, the Filipino military said Monday.
The naval exercises come as the Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos departed for a state visit to New Delhi on Monday, where he is expected to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
What we know about the joint Indian-Filipino patrols in the South China Sea
Before departing for his five-day trip to India, Marcos praised the two countries' "steadfastness in upholding international maritime law, including the UNCLOS", the UN treaty granting an exclusive economic zone within 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) of a country's shores.
The two-day exercises started on Sunday and include three Indian vessels.
India's naval vessels, including the guided missile destroyer INS Delhi, arrived in Manila for a port visit late last week.
The Philippines deployed two frigates.
The patrol "started yesterday afternoon, then it's ongoing up to this moment... the activity at the moment is replenishment at sea," Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Salgado told news agency Agence France Press.
How did China respond to the joint naval patrols?
The cooperation between India and Philippines is likely to upset China, which claims the South China Sea in its entirety.
Answering a question about China's retaliatory move to the naval exercises, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Romeo Brawner said without elaborating that "we did not experience any untoward incident but we were still shadowed. We expected that already."
Brawner said the naval patrols had been successful so far and expressed hopes that Filipino forces could engage India's military in more joint maneuvers in the future.
The Philippines has actively increased its military cooperation with several allies in the last after a series of clashes in the disputed areas with China.
China has made claims over large parts of the South China Sea, including maritime zones claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Some $3 trillion-worth (€2.6 trillion) of goods are shipped through the strategically important region annually.
China also has a longstanding border dispute with India in the Himalayas.
Last week, China called Manila a "troublemaker" that has aligned itself with foreign forces to stir up trouble in what China deems its own territorial waters.
"China never wavers in its resolve and will to safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests and will take resolute countermeasures against any provocations by the Philippine side," Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said in a news conference.
