President Ferdinand Marcos, on a five-day visit to India, was accorded a red carpet welcome and honour guard before he met with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

The leaders agreed on deals including bolstering ties between their respective armed forces – the army and air force as well as their navies – with Indian warships currently taking part in patrols of the disputed South China Sea with their Philippine counterparts for the first time.

The Philippines has heightened defence cooperation with a range of allies over the past year after a series of clashes with China in the contested waterway.

“India and the Philippines are friends by choice and partners by destiny,” Modi told Marcos in a speech. “From the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, we are united by shared values.”

Marcos’ visit follows the Philippines’ acquisition of India’s BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system – the first such export by New Delhi – with deliveries beginning in April under a $375 million deal signed in 2022.

Marcos said the two sides engaged in “far-reaching, productive and forward-looking” discussions.

“We expressed satisfaction over the rapid pace of the Philippines’ ongoing defence modernisation and the expanding capabilities… of India’s indigenous defence industry as a partner in this undertaking, exemplified by our BrahMos project,” he said.

India is a member of the Quad group, which includes fellow democracies the US, Japan and Australia.

Beijing has repeatedly alleged that the four-way partnership, first conceived by late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, was created as a way of containing China.

Talks also included setting out the terms of reference for the negotiations on a “preferential trade agreement” between Manila and New Delhi.