As India and the Philippines commemorate 75 years of diplomatic relations, Diplomatist had the privilege of interviewing H.E. Mr. Josel F. Ignacio, Ambassador of the Philippines to India. In this insightful conversation, Ambassador Ignacio reflects on the evolution of the Philippines-India partnership, highlighting significant milestones, shared regional and global interests, and the promising future ahead. From defence cooperation to economic growth, ASEAN’s influence, and people-to-people exchanges, the Ambassador provides a comprehensive view of how these two nations are deepening their ties across multiple sectors.
As India and the Philippines celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations, how do you view the evolution of this partnership? What have been the most significant milestones?
Philippines-India relations are happily marking the Diamond Jubilee of diplomatic relations on 16 November, and the Embassy is lining up a host of activities over the succeeding year.
It pleases us that this milestone takes place against the backdrop of the rapid intensification of our bilateral engagement. While we have had cordial relations in the decades since we inaugurated our ties, the past five years or so have seen Philippines-India cooperation reinvigorated and shift onto a higher track.
Our bilateral trade passed the USD 3-billion mark for the first time. On the defense side, the Philippines became the first overseas client of India’s vaunted BrahMos Shore-based Anti-Ship Missile. Politically, we have had regular high-level meetings and consultations: then President Ram Nath Kovind visited in 2019. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have held discussions since 2022. Our Foreign Ministers even more so: Secretary Enrique A. Manalo and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar have had three meetings for this year alone. On regional issues, including in the maritime sphere, we have shared views and displayed a strong sense of common cause.
These are not discrete developments. They reflect a relationship that has evolved into one that is more strategic in its character, direction and thrusts.
The Philippines plays a key role in ASEAN. How does the country’s leadership in the region influence its bilateral relations with India, especially in terms of regional stability and economic cooperation?
The Philippines is a Founding Member of ASEAN in 1967. I should mention that fortuitously, our very first Ambassador to India in 1952-56 was Narciso R. Ramos, who was one of the Founding Fathers of ASEAN.
Our engagement within the context of the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has gained salience and much relevance, especially in terms of sustaining the growth trajectory of all parties and preserving a stable regional environment in which this can take place.
The Philippines currently holds the rotating “Country Coordinatorship” for ASEAN- India relations. In this capacity, we will play a crucial role in charting the trajectory of the relationship. This will include technical matters, such as shepherding negotiations on successor to the ASEAN-India Plan of Action that will expire in 2025.
We support and commend the “Act East Policy” of India, now on its tenth year and which has ASEAN at its core. It has driven up trade and investment, connectivity, and business linkages, among others.
As the Philippines, however, even within the context of ASEAN mechanisms, we will build on our shared values and will champion a free, open and inclusive Indo- Pacific founded on the rule of law, and cooperatively addressing challenges traditional and non-traditional, as well as new and increasingly complex threats to the order, especially in the global commons.
The ease of doing business is crucial for attracting foreign investments. What steps has the Philippines taken to create a more business-friendly environment, and how can Indian businesses benefit from this?
The Philippines has consistently been one of the best-performing economies in Asia, matching if not exceeding the forecasts of various multilateral organizations and private analysts. We are currently focused on positioning our country as a regional hub for globally competitive, innovative and sustainability-driven manufacturing and services sectors.
We have a track record of strong macroeconomic fundamentals that engender attractive and positive investment prospects – this is constantly reaffirmed by top and credible credit rating firms. Two months ago, the Philippines earned an “A- with stable outlook“ investment grade rating from Japan-based Rating and Investment Information, Inc. Standard and Poor’s assigns us a “BBB+” rating with a “stable” out, with strong prospects for a further upgrade based on GDP performance this year.
The Philippine government is doubling down on improving its business climate, incentives and policies through game-changing laws. Of note is our 2021 law, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act that grants tax relief to companies, enhances tax and administrative incentives available to companies – including foreign companies – and makes more our transparent tax regimes. A bill is pending in our Congress to further improve on the CREATE Act and bring the Philippine tax regime in line with the OECD’s Pillar Two Global Minimum Tax.
We have also established Green Lanes for FDI in in strategic industries in the Philippines.
Indian companies will have much to gain from making the Philippines an investment destination of choice, particularly those engaged in IT, fintech, blockchain, AI, and BPO sector; mineral processing; medical equipment manufacturing; global capability centers. The Philippines can be India’s complementary site for the production. The Philippines has big players of its own in various sectors that can serve as India’s potential partners, whether in agribusiness, electronics, infrastructure, renewable energy, or manufacturing.
The Indo-Pacific region is of strategic importance to both India and the Philippines. How do you see the two countries collaborating to ensure peace, stability, and prosperity in this region?
The intensification of the Philippines-India relationship is not taking place in a vacuum, and both are very much aware of the enabling or inhibiting impact of global or regional developments, especially in our shared home that is the Indo-Pacific.
The Indo-Pacific region holds much promise, being the world’s fastest-growing economic hub and largest contributor to global growth. And yet, it is also the locus of many challenges and disruptive developments that could undermine our trajectory to stability and prosperity.
India is making important contributions, leveraging its weight and influence. There is the Act East Policy, which has intensified India’s engagement of ASEAN and the larger region. There is the concept of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), which complements the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). Certainly, we also welcome India’s pursuit of the role of “Vishwa Bandhu” or global friend that helps provide solutions to various global problems.
As the Philippines, we intend to cultivate our Indo-Pacific partnership both in terms of our bilateral collaboration with India, as well as engagement within the context of ASEAN-led mechanisms. Fortuitously, the Philippines has recently taken over the three-year rotating “Country Coordinatorship” of ASEAN-India relations. We appreciate India’s recognition of ASEAN Centrality.
Bilaterally, we will leverage and build on the evolving and intensifying Philippines- India relationship based on our like-mindedness shared values and advocacies, including for rule of international law, and our strong sense of responsibility of safeguarding the global commons.
Trade and economic cooperation have been pillars of the India-Philippines relationship. What are the current trends in bilateral trade, and what sectors do you see as the most promising for future growth?
The Philippines has been, for over a decade now, consistently one of the fastest- growing Asian economies, and will join the ranks of trillion-USD economies within a decade. India, for its part, has grown remarkably and well positioned to become the world’s third largest economy. This makes economic cooperation and important pillar of our bilateral engagement.
Total Philippine global exports exceeded a hundred billion last year (USD 103.6 billion).
I am pleased to say that Philippines-India trade is also making solid gains, matching the upswing in overall bilateral relations. Our two-way trade for the first time crossed the 3-billion-dollar (USD 3.1 billion) threshold in 2023, from just USD
2.8 billion the preceding year. Of these, imports from India accounted for USD 2 billion, while our exports to India was at USD 1.1 billion (53.7%). Our goal certainly is to ameliorate our trade deficit.
But more than that, we are focused on further ramping up the value and diversity of goods traded and improve boost reciprocal access for goods. Notwithstanding these gains, Philippines-India trade is not at the same level that our ASEAN-5 peers and Vietnam have. I am pleased that both sides are pushing resolutely.
Utilization of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement is relatively robust and aids these goals. That said, the Philippines and India have also recognized the potential in concluding a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) preparatory steps for whose negotiations are underway.
We have healthy trade in pharmaceuticals, electronics, produce and food items, electronics, oil products, minerals and metals and others. We are working to elevate the share of higher-value added industrial and electronics goods.
I have to mention that between our countries, commerce goes beyond merchandise, and trade in services accounts for a huge component, especially in the area of IT and Business Process Management and Outsourcing, where India and the Philippines are global leaders.
On the global stage, how do India and the Philippines cooperate on pressing issues such as climate change, counter-terrorism, and pandemic response? What are the areas where you see further potential for collaboration?
The Philippines and India have a shared recognition concerning “evolving” the present multilateral system. As my Foreign Secretary Enrique A. Manalo articulated during his Sapru House Lecture in 2023, “existing institutions must adapt to effectively address contemporary issues such as climate change and environmental sustainability, inequality and social justice, global health, migration, and the rise of new and advanced technologies, among others”.
Both our countries agree that international institutions must be shaped, or reshaped, so that they are turned more equitable and more responsive to the call and realities of our times. They must be characterized by inclusive decision-making processes where states have a deeper sense of ownership and their stake”.
Accordingly, multilateral cooperation has always been an important item in our regular dialogues, collaboration and constructive engagement.
In terms of particular concerns, we are, in terms of the threats of pandemics for instance, enhancing cooperation with India on R&D and best practices in mobilizing medical and pharmaceutical resources in emergencies.
On the global commons, whether it be the maritime domain, outer space or cyberspace, we are both countries with an increasingly prominent advocacy and role in shaping governing rules and norms. Space cooperation is particularly promising in terms of using space technologies for development.
Candidatures to international organizations and positions are crucial to putting forward our shared views in these fora, and I am happy that our two countries have a track record of supporting our respective bids or nominees to these bodies. I should mention, in this regard, the recent selection of the Philippines as host country for the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, a UN mechanism to assist vulnerable countries recover from climate impacts.
Indian President Smt. Droupadi Murmu recently highlighted the BrahMos Missile defence deal with the Philippines, noting its significance in strengthening India’s defence export sector. How do you perceive the impact of this deal on the defence ties between the two nations?
The Philippines’ foreign policy is “a friend to all, enemy to none”, and we are committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes anchored on the rule of international law.
Nevertheless, territory and sovereignty are fundamental and existential, to any nation-state. We thus endeavor to enhance our capabilities to secure and protect the territorial integrity of our Republic and deter against potential aggression. In the maritime space, we secure our territories and entitlements, which are in accord with international law. I need to emphasize, at this juncture, that the Award in the Arbitration in the South China Sea (SCS) has definitively clarified and affirmed the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), ruled on the legal character of the features in the West Philippine Sea, and unequivocally nullified claims based on historic rights, which have been extinguished and superseded by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS.
Accordingly, as a nation of 7,641 islands, our military modernization is guided by the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept, which seeks to secure our maritime territory, entitlements and sea-lanes of communication via the integration of land, air, and naval capabilities.
I was at Her Excellency’s address at the Joint Session of Parliament and was gratified at her remarks on India’s export of BrahMos missiles to the Philippines, its very first.
It is a reflection of both country’s close friendship and mutual trust that we are becoming strong partners in the field of defense equipment and technology. Certainly, we view India — with its increasingly robust indigenous defense industry and rising global footprint in defense exports – as one of our important partners in our ongoing development of credible defense and deterrence. The partnership is almost natural: we are like-minded nations with manifold affinities, shared principles and outlooks relative to our regional situation, and a strong sense of common purpose.
Tourism is a vital aspect of cultural exchange. What steps are being taken to enhance tourism between India and the Philippines, and what can be done to tap into the full potential of this sector?
People-to-people ties have been the fertile ground on which Philippines-India links have flourished for centuries. It remains an important aspect of our relationship, with over 130,000 Indians visiting before the pandemic – a number that we will recover soon.
But we are aiming higher: we are looking at substantially ramping up two-way tourism.
Leisure travelers from all over the world have long enjoyed the Philippines’ innumerable tourist sites – whether unmatched beaches, urban destinations, nature tourism, or heritage areas. It’s about time that Indians followed suit.
India is now one of the top, if not the top, outbound tourist group in Asia and rising to become fifth largest in the world. Based on this recognition, we at our Embassy and consular missions in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai are working double-time to improve our visa schemes and procedures. In April this year, for instance, we launched the electronic Visa for Indians residing within the consular jurisdiction of our Embassy, and this should be available across India soon.
We are also pushing hard for the resumption of direct air connectivity in the coming months.
But our tourism flows should be reciprocal, in order to fully realize gains. And so, even as I am Ambassador to India, I and our Embassy are also encouraging our Filipino countrymen to come over and discover for themselves the wonders of Incredible India.
How is the Philippine Embassy promoting the country’s culture in India? Are there any upcoming cultural events or initiatives that you would like to highlight?
Not many Indians are aware of the extent of Hindu and Sanskrit influences in Philippine culture. One of our major languages, Tagalog, on which Filipino is based, is believed to have about 280 words of Sanskrit origin. Gold artifacts and pottery found in the Philippines have been traced to ancient trade or Hindu- Buddhist polities of yore. There is a Filipino dish called “Kare-Kare” that originates from Sepoy soldiers who came with the British to Manila in 1762-64 and opted to stay behind in the Philippines.
Certainly, we also want to project and promote our indigenous Philippine cultures in India. There are a number of activities we have initiated over the past year that we intend to conduct more regularly, such as a Filipino Food Festival, Philippine film screenings, exhibitions, bazaars and others. My aspiration is to bring back to India our Philippine adaptations of the Ramayana, of which two full-length pieces exist – a jazz ballet called the “Rama Hari”, and a musical, “Rama at Sita”.
The importance of such cultural promotion cannot be overstated. We are celebrating 75 years of our relations, and we are looking to the next quarter century towards our centennial, in which we hope to radically elevate and sustain people- to-people, tourism, cultural and connectivity ties.
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