Indian coast guard ship on three-day visit

MANILA PORT CALL Philippine Coast Guard personnel (inset) welcome the arrival on Monday of Indian Coast Guard ship Samudra Paheredar as India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar also visits the country. The Philippines and India are seeking to strengthen ties on defense, trade and other areas. —PHOTOS BY MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

An Indian Coast Guard ship (ICGS) made a port call in Manila on Monday, the first stop of an overseas deployment in Southeast Asia.

The Samudra Paheredar docked at South Harbor’s Pier 15 for the three-day goodwill tour, coinciding with the visit of India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, as both countries look to strengthen wide-ranging cooperation in areas such as defense and trade.

The Indian ship that specializes in pollution control is on an overseas deployment to the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) from March 25 to April 12 to further enhance cooperation, interoperability and demonstration of India’s capabilities in marine pollution response.

It was not disclosed which other countries it will visit in the Asean. India recently reaffirmed its commitment to a comprehensive strategic partnership with the regional bloc during the 24th Asean-India Joint Cooperation Committee meeting in Indonesia.

Deputy Inspector General Sudhir Ravindran, commanding officer of the ICGS Samudra Paheredar, paid a courtesy call on Rear Adm. Hostillo Arturo Cornelio, the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) chief of coast guard staff, shortly after their arrival.

Foreign chiefs meet

Both officials discussed the PCG’s mandated functions and the ICG’s potential contributions to coast guard modernization and industry cooperation.

A series of activities is expected over the next few days, including a community support program, walkathon and beach cleanup, facility tour, and expert exchanges, PCG spokesperson Rear Adm. Armando Balilo said.

Jaishankar, meanwhile, will meet with Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and visit the Department of National Defense as part of his trip to the Philippines.

The meeting with Manalo will focus on “defense and maritime cooperation, food security, development, health care and financial technology cooperation,” according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Jaishankar, who first visited the Philippines in 2022, will also board the ICGS Samudra Paheredar at Pier 15 on Tuesday. He will also visit Singapore and Malaysia for his three-country Southeast Asia tour.

READ: Indian foreign minister to visit PH next week to discuss trade, tourism

The Philippines is also expecting the delivery of the first batch of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles that was scheduled to arrive in the first quarter of 2024.

The Philippines signed an P18.9-billion deal with BrahMos Aerospace Private Ltd.—an Indian-Russian joint venture—in January 2022 for three batteries of the cruise missiles as part the Philippine Navy’s shore-based antiship missile system project.

The Philippine Marine Corps’ Coastal Defense Regiment will be the primary user of the BrahMos system. It is expected to boost the country’s deterrence in the West Philippine Sea. INQ