Would China also warn India, like it does the Philippines, that it should stop playing with fire?

This as India on Tuesday expressed unequivocal support for the Philippines as the latter moves to safeguard its sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) against intrusions and acts of aggression by China.

In a joint press briefing with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar stressed that all parties to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) must adhere to it.

Jaishankar made the call amid the heightened tension between the Philippines and China over the latest incident of the China Coast Guard bombarding with water a vessel out to resupply Filipino troops stationed on the grounded BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal in the WPS.

 India, as a nation deeply invested in the
Indo-Pacific Region, primarily due to its Act East policy and Indo-Pacific vision, “follows all developments (in the WPS) with great interest,” Jaishankar said.

“We are convinced that the progress and prosperity of this region are best served by staunch adherence to a rules-based order. UNCLOS 1982 is particularly important in that regard as the constitution of the seas,” the Indian official said.

“All parties must adhere to it in its entirety, both in letter and in spirit,” he added. “I take this opportunity to firmly reiterate India’s support for the Philippines in upholding its national sovereignty.”

China and the Philippines are both parties to UNCLOS, being among the first 119 countries to sign the convention in 1982.

The Philippines has accused China of violating UNCLOS and other international laws and rulings, such as the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea. That arbitral decision recognized Philippine sovereignty in the WPS and dismissed China’s claim to nearly the entire South China Sea (SCS) as baseless.

The SCS overlaps the WPS thus both the Philippines and China claim sovereignty over the disputed waters. Chinese coast guard, navy, and militia vessels have used excessive force against Philippine vessels in the WPS, which is within the latter’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

China had neither participated in the 2016 arbitration proceeding nor recognized the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling that favored Manila while being adverse to Beijing.

India siding with the Philippines brought to the fore its own soured diplomatic ties with China following the deadly 2020 clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the Galwan Valley in 2020.

Like the Philippines, India has a long history of territorial disputes with China over sovereignty in the widely separated Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh border regions.

Most of Aksai Chin, which China controls, is claimed by India as part of Ladakh. China, however, claims the area as part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Tibet Autonomous Region.

Last year, India was among the countries that criticized China for releasing a new version of its standard map that featured a 10-dash line — previously a nine-dash line — that included the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin plateau as official Chinese territory.

The new Chinese map also deliberately covered the maritime zones of the Philippines, as well as the reefs and islands also claimed by other Southeast Asian countries.

The move prompted the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam to release strongly worded statements against the new map.

Great potential

Jaishankar said India sees “great potential” in its maritime cooperation with the Philippines.

“The growing comfort and trust between us is also reflected in the ongoing supply of rice from India as an exceptional measure,” he said. “As two seafaring nations of the Indo-Pacific, our maritime cooperation holds great potential.”

The Philippines and India signed several agreements on enhanced maritime cooperation and white shipping.

For his part, Manalo said the two countries have decided to elevate their maritime cooperation.

“Our countries have a shared interest in a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. Minister Jaishankar and I have decided to accelerate our maritime cooperation, with a planned Maritime Dialogue with India to be held in Manila,” Manalo said.

He added that the “successful Track II dialogue in September last year (between India and the Philippines) confirmed several promising areas for collaboration, especially in maritime domain awareness, shipping and seafaring, search and rescue, law enforcement and environmental protection.”

Manalo noted that the country recognizes the ongoing significance of India’s defense industries in the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Modernization Program.

To recall, the Philippines is awaiting the delivery of the India-made BrahMos missiles, which are expected to boost the defense capabilities of the Philippine Navy.

Manalo said other priority areas of the Philippines’ bilateral ties with India include education, training, and research and development in support of the country’s self-reliant defense posture.

“Development cooperation, agriculture, food security, affordable healthcare, and infrastructure remain high in our shared development agenda,” he said.

“We have also taken note of India’s significant successes in science and technology, space and financial technology, particularly in terms of financial inclusivity.  We are keen to begin closer cooperation in this regard,” he added.

Manalo said the Philippines is “prioritizing Indian travelers in its e-Visa system project, which we hope to launch in India in the very near future.”

“We also discussed various mechanisms to facilitate two-way trade, including progress in the negotiations of our bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement, as well as the upgrading of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement,” he said.

He noted that Philippine exports to India last year exceeded one billion US dollars for the first time.