Philippines Defence Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. highlighted the need to create a "great net" that fosters regional stability and security during his meeting with visiting Indian Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane, the country's Department of National Defense (DND) stated on Thursday.
The meeting held on Wednesday marked another step towards deepening defence cooperation between the Philippines and India, the Department mentioned.
"Secretary of National Defense (SND) Teodoro emphasised the importance of strengthening the partnership between the two countries, particularly in upholding the rule of law in the region. The Defense Chief also underscored the Philippines' commitment to a Self-Reliant Defence Posture, with a particular focus on supply chain resilience as a critical component of the country's defence strategy. He also welcomed further opportunities for military-to-military engagements and collaborations," it stated.
Appreciating the visit of the Indian delegation to the Philippines, which he said underscored the mutual commitment of both countries to deepen relations, Teodoro stressed the necessity of engaging in dialogue with "like-minded nations" to build a framework for cooperation built on universally accepted principles of international law.
The Philippines Defence Secretary is scheduled to meet Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) to be held in November in Lao People's Democratic Republic which would further reinforce the bilateral defence relationship between the two nations.
Secretary Aramane, while commending the Philippines for its strong adherence to the rule of law and expressing the desire to enhance defence ties through the sharing of experiences and technologies, also extended an invitation to Teodoro to visit India for ministerial-level talks, highlighting that 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
On Wednesday, Aramane co-chaired the fifth meeting of India-Philippines Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) in Manila along with his counterpart Irineo Cruz Espino, the Senior Undersecretary at the Ministry of National Defence of Philippines.
"The Defence Secretary appreciated the Self Reliance Defence Posture Act of the Philippines government for modernising its Armed Forces. He highlighted that India has also laid out a similar vision for 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'. Under this vision, the Indian defence Industry is continuously enhancing its manufacturing capabilities and is exporting equipment to the world," the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
The Defence Secretary invited the Philippines to partner with the Indian defence industry in co-development and co-production of equipment. The Philippines also invited investments in long-term equity partnership towards promoting assured supply chains. It acknowledged and appreciated India’s functioning and proven template of defence Industry indigenisation.
"Both sides affirmed the commitment to support each other to achieve the goal of self-reliance in defence production. They appreciated the operationalisation of White Shipping Information Exchange and opening of defence wing at Embassy of India, Manila in near future," the Ministry mentioned.
PM Modi launches flagship women empowerment scheme ‘SUBHADRA’ in Odisha
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched ‘SUBHADRA’, the flagship scheme of the newly elected BJP government in Odisha, during a special programme held at Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar here. This scheme touted as the largest, single women-centric scheme is expected to cover more than one crore women.
Rahul reached agenda with Omar to release all terrorists: Amit Shah in Haryana rally
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi went to Kashmir and reached an agenda with former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah to release all imprisoned terrorists.
Manoj Verma becomes new Kolkata Police chief, Vineet Goyal shifted to STF as ADG
On Monday night, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee promised the junior doctors, protesting over the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in the state capital last month, that she will replace Goyal.
SC flags glorification and grandstanding over bulldozer action, pauses demolitions across country
The Supreme Court on Tuesday flagged "glorification" and "grandstanding" over bulldozer action in the country, and said if necessary, it will involve the Election Commission of India in the issue as it paused all demolition actions across the country, except with its permission, till the next date of hearing.
Iranian Supreme Leader slammed for 'minorities' remark, advised to look at 'own record'
Several leading Islamic scholars, diplomats and politicians have severely condemned the remarks made by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the "suffering" of Muslims in Gaza, Myanmar, and India.
Schools, colleges in violence-hit Manipur reopen after 11 days
After 11 days of closure, all schools, colleges and technical institutions were reopened across Manipur on Tuesday, even as the security forces continued their intensive combing and search operations in most of the districts.
Gujarat sees significant rise in country’s GDP share in last 2 decades: EAC-PM paper
Gujarat has seen a significant increase in its share in India’s GDP in the last two decades, while consistently performing well throughout the study period from 1960-61, a paper by the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to the Prime Minister said on Tuesday.
Southern states account for 30.6 pc of India's GDP, Kerala losing share: EAC-PM paper
The EAC-PM paper looked at the relative performance of states in terms of their share of the national economy and their per capita GDP as per cent of the national average since 1960-61.