New Delhi, Aug 5 (PTI) India's position on the South China Sea is "clear and consistent," and it considers it as a part of the global commons, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday.

MEA Secretary (East) P Kumaran, at a special press briefing here on the ongoing visit of Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr, was responding to several queries related to the just-held India-Philippines bilateral naval exercise off the Philippines.

According to reports, the exercise also took place in parts of the South China Sea.

INS Delhi (guided missile destroyer), INS Shakti (fleet tanker), and INS Kiltan (anti-submarine warfare corvette) of the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet, on operational deployment to South East Asia, concluded their port call at Manila recently.

On departure, these ships engaged in the bilateral maritime exercise with the Philippine Navy ships on August 3 and August 4, people familiar with the matter said.

Kumaran was asked about China's reaction to this two-day exercise, which ended on the day President Marcos arrived in India on a five-day visit.

"Our position on the South China Sea is clear and consistent. We consider the South China Sea as a part of global commons, and we support freedom of navigation, overflight in the region and legitimate commerce through the waters of the South China Sea," the Secretary (East) said.

"India has an abiding interest in peace and stability in the region, and our position is based on the UN Convention of the Law of the Seas, UNCLOS 1982," he said.

India also believes that any difference between the parties concerned should be resolved peacefully by respecting the legal and diplomatic processes and "without resorting to threat or use of force," Kumaran said.

The MEA official said India's position on the South China Sea will be seen also in the India-Philippines joint statement.

"We have also said that the discussions on the Code of Conduct should be effective and should be expedited. Any code of conduct that comes out of these discussions should be effective and substantive, and it should also take into account the interests of the parties which are not part of the CoC negotiations," he added.

Beijing's military assertiveness has been growing in this maritime region.

Earlier in the day, Yu Jing, Spokesperson of Chinese Embassy in India, shared on X a statement: "Spokesperson for the PLA (People's Liberation Army), Southern Theater Command: The Philippines has been rallying an external country to interfere in the South China Sea by organising so-called 'joint patrols,' which undermine regional peace and stability." The statement did not name India.

Kumaran, during the briefing, also shared broad contours of the discussions held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Marcos earlier in the day.

Modi, in a joint press statement delivered at the Hyderabad House, mentioned the three ships that took part in the bilateral exercise.

India and the Philippines are friends by choice and partners by destiny, Modi said after holding "wide-ranging and productive" talks with Marcos, as the two countries elevated their ties to the level of strategic partnership, with a greater thrust on increasing interaction among the armed forces.

Modi also said that work will be done to start a direct flight between Delhi and Manila this year.

The MEA official said an Air India flight is expected before the end of this year, and the inaugural flight is likely to be from October.

"Further discussions are underway, how we can expand our bilateral air services agreement. Hopefully, more destinations will be added, but initially, it will be the Delhi-Manila flight," he said.

Asked if BrahMos missiles figured in the talks, Kumaran said, "Yes, there was a discussion on defence cooperation between the two leaders, export of defence platforms including BrahMos." As part of a broader defence cooperation, "we were talking about capacity building, joint exercises, joint cooperative maritime activities, exchange of training programme between our officials, etc," he said.

The Secretary (East) said Marcos also said he has indeed studied how effective the Indian space programme is.

"And, they wanted to use some of our space technology and space capabilities to effect social transformation, in terms of helping predict weather events, agriculture, disaster relief, etc. Naturally, we will be talking in terms of launching Philippines satellites, helping them develop satellites, all of these are on the table, in terms of possibilities of cooperation," he said.

There were discussions on diversifying trade, expanding the range of products, and also identifying areas that can feed into a potential "preferential trade agreement" between India and the Philippines, Kumaran said.

India has also invited the Philippines to participate in the India-based Information Fusion Centre–Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR).

India also announced a gratis e-tourist visa facility extended to Filipino nationals for one year (from August 2025).

A commemorative stamp to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of India-Philippines diplomatic relations was also issued on the occasion. PTI KND VN VN

Freedom of navigation affirmed as global commons; India backs UNCLOS-based peaceful resolution and expedited Code of Conduct. India treats the South China Sea as part of the global commons, supporting freedom of navigation, overflight and legitimate commerce, and bases its stance on UNCLOS; it urges peaceful settlement of disputes without threat or use of force and calls for an effective, expedited Code of Conduct that accounts for interests of parties outside negotiations.