Philippines' foreign secretary Enrique A Manalo has said that described a common desire to pursue an independent foreign policy as their “rich, common ground”, uniting Manila and New Delhi.
“The Philippines pursues an independent foreign policy in accordance with our constitution. This is something we share with India. We promote our national interest and principles for seeking peaceful and mutually beneficial engagements with the international community,” Manalo said in a keynote address at the Indian Council for World Affairs (ICWA) in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The foreign secretary underlined that Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has committed to “being friends to all and enemies to none” as part of his foreign policy outlook.
Manalo added that both the countries “seek to pursue their own path of progress and develop an influence to shape their environment in solidarity with other states”.
Manalo said that both the countries also shared a common outlook as far as reforming global governance institutions are concerned. He said that both the capitals have advocated for interests of the developing states since their respective decolonization processes in the twentieth century.
“The Philippines and India are staunch advocates of inclusive multilateralism. Both Philippines and India have put themselves as champions of national independence, self-determination and promotion of interests of developing countries in the UN and its specialized agencies,” he said.
The top diplomat underlined that Manila backed New Delhi’s concerns about the need to “reimagine” international institutions to reflect contemporary realities and address global challenges such as climate change, migration, food and security issues and those arising from the rise of new and advanced technologies.
ASEAN Appreciates India's Commitment to Grouping's Centrality
Manalo underlined that India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans’ Initiative (IPOI) launched in 2018 “converges” with ASEAN’s Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP), a policy document which places the southeast Asian states at the center of the evolving security architecture in the Indo-Pacific.
“Although these frameworks may differ in geographic focus and scope, they share fundamental goals—namely fostering regional cooperation, ensuring security in the maritime domain and promoting connectivity, advocate open regionalism and preserve the rules-based order that has provided the international system with stability and predictability,” Manalo remarked.
The ace diplomat said that ASEAN placed “great importance to India’s unwavering commitment to ASEAN centrality within the regional security architecture”.