India, Aug. 11 -- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s recent visit to India marks a decisive inflexion point in India-Philippines relations. By upgrading ties to a strategic partnership, Manila and New Delhi are signalling that the Indo-Pacific's centre of gravity is increasingly shaped by agile middle powers forging intent-led coalitions. The upgrade in ties is about two confident democracies leveraging shared interests to shape the contours of engagement in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific. The growing alignment between Manila and New Delhi indicates that the two are asserting strategic agency - deepening defence ties, expanding maritime cooperation, and reinforcing their commitment to a rules-based regional order. But this acknowledgement is a recent development. Compared to India's ties with other South East Asian nations, its partnership with the Philippines has been a relatively late development. While India began conducting bilateral naval exercises with South East Asian countries in the 1990s, its first such engagement with the Philippines was in 2021, when they conducted their first (contactless because of the pandemic) bilateral naval exercise in the South China Sea, specifically within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ). There are three clear drivers behind the accelerated pace of bilateral ties. The most obvious one is, of course, shared security concerns over China's maritime assertions. A second factor is a convergence in timing. The strategic diversification by the Philippines coincides with India's diplomatic and defence outreach in line with its Act East Policy and Indo-Pacific vision. India's position on the South China Sea has evolved over the past decade. India first referenced the importance of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea in a 2014 joint statement with the US. This stance hardened after the 2020 Galwan clash. Since 2021, every India-Asean summit statement has consistently reaffirmed the need to uphold freedom of navigation and the UNCLOS framework in the region. This strategic recalibration has brought India and the Philippines closer. While India remained neutral following the 2016 arbitral ruling in favour of the Philippines, it changed course in 2023, publicly urging China to respect the verdict. In March 2024, external affairs minister S Jaishankar reaffirmed support for the Philippines' sovereignty. This move drew sharp criticism from Beijing and underscored India's growing alignment with Manila. The third driver is the growing understanding of the need for structured, long-term collaboration. A defining development in bilateral ties is the first formal Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) conducted by the Philippines' and India's navies in the West Philippine Sea, from August 3 to August 4, 2025, which coincided with Marcos's India visit. The two-day deployment, featuring Indian vessels alongside Philippine frigates demonstrated interoperability within Manila's EEZ. Though the exercise proceeded without incident, it was closely shadowed by Chinese naval vessels. The declaration of the strategic partnership reflects a move toward deeper maritime collaboration and capability sharing. The 2023 acquisition of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile made Manila the first foreign recipient of India's most advanced and operationally deployed missile system. During Marcos's visit, there was an expression of interest in acquiring Indian defence hardware, reinforcing defence cooperation as a growing pillar of bilateral interaction. The two nations also committed to strengthening trade through the conclusion of talks on the preferential trade agreement alongside joint ventures in critical minerals, clean tech, farm, health, and digital tech, and improved customs cooperation. Manila and New Delhi agreed to work together through Asean-led platforms, the Voice of the Global South Summit, and climate initiatives like the International Solar Alliance. The plan of action (2025-2029) adopted during Marcos's visit will guide implementation. Both countries pledged expanded cooperation in space, tourism, cultural exchange, and digital technologies. It was also agreed to introduce visa-free travel for Indians to the Philippines, and free e-visas for Filipinos to India, alongside plans to launch direct flights between Delhi and Manila. The convergence of strategic priorities, countering Chinese assertiveness, diversifying partnerships, and building maritime resilience has positioned India-Philippines ties as a pragmatic and purposeful partnership. If sustained, this relationship could become a bedrock of India's Indo-Pacific strategy and a model for strategic South-South cooperation....