Philippines President Marcos Jr. to visit India as two sides deepen maritime cooperation

NEW DELHI

In a move aimed at deepening maritime cooperation with the southeast Asian region, India will host Philippines President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. during August 4-8. This will be the first visit by President Marcos Jr, son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos who visited India in 1976.

The Ministry of External Affairs said the visit would formally begin with the ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan which would be followed by a visit by President Marcos Jr. to the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. Soon after the welcome ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Marcos Jr. will hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the two sides signing multiple agreements and MoUs. On August 7, he will visit Bengaluru.

The visit is being viewed as the culmination of sustained political-level dialogue even as they strengthened maritime cooperation as both Philippines and India are strong proponents of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Mr. Modi had met President Marcos Jr. on the sidelines of 21^st ASEAN-India Summit and the 19^th East Asia Summit in Vientiane, Lao PDR in October 2024. They had also met on the sidelines of the 20^th ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta in September 2023. Earlier, Mr. Modi had congratulated President Marcos Jr after his electoral victory in 2022.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had met Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Enrique A. Manalo on March 18, 2025 when Mr. Manalo participated in the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi. The Ministers also met in Vientiane, on July 25, 2024, on the sidelines of the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ meeting. Mr. Jaishankar had visited the Philippines from March 25-27, 2025. During the visit, he met Secretary Manalo and the Secretary of National Defence of the Philippines, Teodoro Gilbert, and called on President Marcos Jr.

The Marcos family has been part of Philippine politics for more than half century. President Ferdinand Marcos who had imposed martial law in Philippines in 1972, visited India in May 1976 on his way back from the fourth session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which took place in Nairobi in May 1976.

The upcoming five-day visit is drawing attention as it starts soon after several Indian Navy destroyers reached the Port of Manila to conduct joint patrol of the West Philippine Sea with the Philippine Navy. On August 1, Indian Naval Ships INS Delhi, INS Shakti and INS Kiltan of the Eastern Fleet led by Rear Admiral Susheel Menon were welcomed in Philippines. Armed Forces of Philippines Chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. told the Philippines media that the presence of the Indian destroyers was a “clear demonstration” of mutual resolve to guard the maritime domain. The development comes months after the first India-Philippines Maritime Dialogue was held in December 2024.