India and the Philippines agreed to bolster defense and maritime security partnership and to make it a key pillar of bilateral cooperation, as President Ram Nath Kovind held wide-ranging talks with his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte.
The two countries also committed to work closely together to defeat and eliminate terrorism in all its forms as President Ram Nath Kovind held wide-ranging talks with his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte at his official residence, the Malacanan Palace.
Kovind arrived in the Philippines on Thursday as part of his five-day state visit to the country. "My visit to the Philippines is taking place in this landmark year when we are celebrating 70 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries," Kovind said in a press statement along his Philippine counterpart Duterte. Acknowledging that the relations between the two countries have grown from strength to strength.
The meeting between Kovind and Duterte took place after a Chinese fishing trawler hit and sank a Filipino boat in June in the contested waters of the South China Sea. China claims most of the contested sea, including waters close to the Philippine shores, and has dismissed a UN-backed international tribunal ruling that said its assertion to the Sea is without legal basis. Parts of the South China Sea are also claimed by Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Kovind also condoled the loss of life caused by the earthquake in Mindanao on Wednesday and wished speedy recovery to those affected.
Source: The Economic Times
