Manila: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Indian Coast Guard Ship Samudra Paheredar on Tuesday during its port call to Manila and said that India's Act East policy and Indo-Pacific vision will continue to give it a more contemporary form.

He presented his remarks at the Indian Coast Guard Ship Samudra Paheredar on Tuesday and said that his visit and the ship's presence signify the deepening relations between the two countries.

"Pleased to visit the Indian Coast Guard Ship Samudra Paheredar during its port call to Manila. My visit and the ship's presence signify the deepening India-Philippines relations. India's long and distinguished Indian maritime tradition's civilizational imprint is still visible in this region. Our Act East policy and Indo-Pacific vision will continue giving it a more contemporary form," EAM Jaishankar posted on social media X.

He further expressed pleasure in meeting everyone and addressing them on board the Indian Coast Guard ship Samudra Paheredar during its port call to Manila.

The ship's presence coincided with Jaishankar's bilateral visit.

"Cooperation between the coast guards of our two nations was facilitated by an understanding of enhanced maritime cooperation that was reached last year," he said.

Jaishankar further said that specialised training courses in India have commenced.

"We hosted the Philippine Coast Guard commander and I'm glad to note that specialised training courses in India have commenced. We value the presence of the Philippines in the search and rescue and pollution response exercises that have been conducted by the Indian Coast Guard," he said.

Further, he said that the visit of this pollution control vessel to the Philippines is significant because it highlights the shared challenges that we face in that domain.

"Like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific should be doing more with each other. I should mention, by the way, that this vessel was built in the state of Gujarat, which I had the honour to represent in parliament. I'm glad to see that it also carries the cadets of the National Cadet Corps on board," he said.

Jaishankar further noted that one of our key responsibilities today is to protect the environment and promote eco-friendly and sustainable development.

"This has since gathered pace and we look forward to its progress," he added.

"Another noteworthy development is the Indo-Pacific maritime domain awareness initiative, of which both our countries are members, which is aimed at fostering cooperation on a wide range of maritime activities and issues," he noted.

Moreover, he said that India and the Philippines are both members of the recap mechanism. "We have also seen the commencement of ASEAN India maritime exercises," he said.

Jaishankar emphasised that as seafaring nations, this is a strong bilateral bond between India and the Philippines.

Jaishankar arrived in Manila after paying an official visit to Singapore and will visit Malaysia after the Philippines.

Jaishankar is on an official visit to these countries at the invitation of his counterparts, according to an official release of the Ministry of External Affairs.

The visit of the EAM spanning five days from March 23-27 will focus on enhancing bilateral relations with the three countries and provide an opportunity for engagement on regional issues of mutual concern.

This report is auto-generated from a syndicated feed