India, Aug. 5 -- India and the Philippines focused on enhancing cooperation in trade, defence and connectivity as they elevated their relations to a strategic partnership on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr pledging to work together to uphold a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific region.

Marcos, who is in India with a delegation that includes 14 cabinet ministers, met PM Modi for wide-ranging talks that encompassed defence and security, trade and investment, healthcare, digital transformation, space and connectivity, even as warships from India and the Philippines conducted a joint exercise in the South China Sea.

The two sides concluded a five-year plan of action to take forward the strategic ...