India, Philippines strengthen Maritime cooperation in New Delhi dialogue

New Delhi [India], March 2 (ANI): The second India-Philippines Maritime Dialogue was held on Monday in the national capital, where the two sides exchanged assessments of developments in the Indo-Pacific region and shared perspectives on the Law of the Sea.
According to an official release from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Indian delegation was led by Muanpuii Saiawi, Joint Secretary, Disarmament and International Security Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, and the Philippines delegation by Emmanuel Donato K Guzman, Acting Assistant Secretary, Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office, Department of Foreign Affairs.
The two sides explored avenues of collaboration at multilateral mechanisms, including the United Nations, ReCAAP (Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia) and IONS (Indian Ocean Naval Symposium). Cooperation at ASEAN platformsduring Philippines' ASEAN Chairship and the ASEAN-India Maritime Year of cooperation, were deliberated upon, a release stated.
As per a release, they agreed to strengthen their shared efforts in areas such as the marine economy, maritime domain awareness, Navy and Coast Guard engagements, as well as seafarers' cooperation. They agreed to explore collective efforts in marine scientific research, HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) and in mitigating the challenges of supply chain disruptions.
It was agreed to hold the next round of Dialogue in the Philippines, a release added. (ANI)