MANILA: With the world reeling from the aftereffects of wars and conflicts, India will look and act east proactively next week as Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Manila to participate in the India-ASEAN and other related summits, with the overarching goal of harnessing this dynamic region to fructify India’s 2047 development agenda.
PM Modi has a packed agenda for the November 16-18 visit to Manila that includes participation in the Asean-India Summit, the 18-nation East Asia Summit, and several bilateral meetings on the sidelines. The show-stealer will be a Quad leaders’ meeting, the first such summit in the last three years which will be attended by the leaders of the US, India, Japan and Australia.
Each of these summits will have its distinctive agenda, but there will be cross-cutting themes such as expanding trade and investment, protecting freedom of navigation and forging resilient supply chains amid seismic geopolitical changes.
Ahead of the visit, Rudrendra Tandon, Secretary (East) in India’s Ministry of External Affairs, highlighted key themes and talking points that will frame PM Modi’s multifarious interactions in Manila. Terming the 11-member grouping as a “locomotive for peace, stability and economic prosperity,” Mr Tandon framed the burgeoning India-ASEAN relations in terms of “bolstering trade and building resilience amid rapid geopolitical changes.” “
A strong strategic relationship with Asean member states, as a collective as well as individually, is good for both of us,” Mr Tandon stressed, adding that “it will make us more resilient to handle the very rapid geopolitical changes that are taking place around us.” “It will also contribute to peace and stability in Asia as a whole,” he added.
Freedom of Navigation
The ASEAN and related summits will be taking place at a time when the Philippines and China are taking an aggressive posture on over competing claims in South China Sea. As ASEAN chair, Philippines’ has accelerated negotiations for concluding the South China Sea Code of Conduct. Manila set the year-end deadline for the Code of Conduct, but going by latest indications it looks unlikely to meet this deadline.
The code is being designed to stop incidents at sea from turning into armed conflict. China has repeatedly blocked proposals to make the COC legally binding and enforceable as they prefer a diluted framework that carries no penalties for violations.
Against this backdrop, PM Modi, in his remarks at the summit, is likely to exhort ASEAN leaders to work collectively to protect freedom of navigation and to avert tensions arising out of territorial disputes over the South China Sea. PM Modi will advocate freedom of navigation and overflight and underline that ASEAN should safeguard the collective interests of all regional stakeholders who depend on open sea lanes and stable maritime governance.
ASEAN-India FTA review
At the ASEAN summit, PM Modi is likely to pitch for an early review of the ASEAN-India FTA (AITIGA), which can unleash the full economic potential of the India-ASEAN partnership. India hopes that the review results in a balanced, effective and user-friendly agreement for businesses. India-ASEAN bilateral trade reached USD 128.38 billion in 2025–26, but this is way below ASEAN’s bilateral trade with its other dialogue partners such as US, China, Japan, and South Korea.
India and ASEAN have set a target to elevate ASEAN–India bilateral trade to USD 200 billion by 2030.
Enhancing maritime cooperation
Enhancing maritime cooperation will figure prominently in the summit discussions. The two sides have declared 2026 as “ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation,” and hence one can expect new initiatives to bolster maritime collaboration in related areas of HADR, maritime security, and the blue economy.
India has prioritized maritime collaboration with ASEAN to offset Chinese PLA’s growing assertiveness in the region. In this regard, the navies of India and the Philippines co-hosted the second edition of ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME) under the theme Anchored in Trust, United at Sea at Subic Bay, Philippines, September 28-October 2, 2026.
Looking ahead, India sees its proactive participation in the ASEAN summit, East Asia summit, and related forums as part of its broader strategic design to shape a multi-polar Asia. Countering China’s hegemonic ambitions in the region is the subtext of India’s enhanced Act East policy. PM Modi will leverage his participation in India-ASEAN summit, East Asia Summit, and Quad to position India as a reliable partner of ASEAN in shaping a secure, open, inclusive, resilient, and rule-based region.
(Manish Chand is in Manila to cover the ASEAN and related summits)
Author Profile
- Manish Chand is Founder and Editor-in-Chief of India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) and India and World, a pioneering magazine focused on international affairs. He is CEO, Centre for Global India Insights, an India-based think tank focused on global affairs.
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