Here’s an interesting new geopolitical development in the current standoff between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. From Newsweek:
Three Indian Navy warships arrived in the Philippines on Monday amid rising tensions in the contested South China Sea.
The guided-missile destroyer INS Delhi, fleet tanker INS Shakti, and anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kiltan pulled into Manila as part of the Indian Eastern Fleet's operational deployment to Southeast Asia, which included port calls in Malaysia and Singapore.
The visit comes as both India and the Philippines face increasing maritime pressure from China. The Philippines and China are engaged in a territorial dispute over the South China Sea, while India contends with Chinese influence in its neighborhood and there are ongoing border tensions.
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The arrival of the Indian warships follows the recent delivery of the first batch of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Manila, which has called the weapons a "game-changer."
The transfer was part of a nearly $375 million deal signed two years ago, aimed at equipping the Philippine Marines with anti-ship variant of the missile.
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India's involvement in the region is also seen as part of its broader "Act East" policy, which aims to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian nations. Sripathi Narayanan, a defense analyst in New Delhi, told the South China Morning Post that India's relationships in the region have improved significantly since the launch of this policy.
As China continues to assert its maritime claims, regional players like India and the Philippines are undergoing ambitious military modernization programs and strengthening alliances with the U.S. and other partners.
India's membership in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, alongside the United States, Japan and Australia, further underscores New Delhi's aim to play a greater role in regional security.
Meanwhile, the diplomatic fallout over a leaked phone call between a senior Philippine navy official and China’s military attaché in Manila that ostensibly was supposed to help lower tensions in the South China Sea continues to increase. From Reuters:
Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos told a senate hearing he received a call from China's military attache in Manila in January when he was still commander of the military post overseeing the South China Sea, but said he did not agree to concessions with China.
A transcript of the supposed phone conversation was published by local newspaper The Manila Times on May 8 during which it said Carlos had agreed to China's proposal of a "new model".
In the proposed model the Philippines would use fewer vessels in resupply missions to troops at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, and notify Beijing about missions in advance, according to the conversion.
"I condemn the act of the Chinese embassy to record the conversation without my consent, much more to divulge it to the public with malicious twist and manipulation in order to appear that our discussion supported the corrosive narrative of PRC," Carlos told a senate hearing, referring to the People's Republic of China.
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China's foreign ministry urged the Philippines on Wednesday to abide by the agreements and understandings reached for properly managing the situation in the South China Sea.
"The timeline is clear and clear, the facts are certain, the evidence is conclusive, and no one can deny it," Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a press conference.
The Philippines' national security adviser has called for Chinese diplomats to be expelled over the alleged leak of a phone conversation, accusing China's embassy in Manila of spreading "disinformation, misinformation and malinformation."