Inaugural patrol bolsters defence
The two-day sail includes three Indian vessels and started Sunday, a day before Marcos left on a trip that will include talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Philippines has heightened defence cooperation with a range of allies over the past year.
India's naval vessels, including the guided missile destroyer INS Delhi, arrived in Manila for a port visit late last week.
The patrol 'started yesterday afternoon, then it's ongoing up to this moment... the activity at the moment is replenishment at sea,' Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Salgado said.
While in India, Marcos is expected to sign pacts in such fields as law, culture and technology, according to Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Evangeline Ong Jimenez-Ducrocq, but all eyes will be on any potential defence agreements.
Before departing yesterday, Marcos praised the two countries' 'steadfastness in upholding international maritime law, including the UNCLOS', the UN treaty granting an exclusive economic zone within 200 nautical miles (370km) of a country's shores.
The Philippines has previously purchased BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles from India, a weapon which has a top speed of 3,450kph. — AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
42 minutes ago
- The Sun
LGBT hate crimes surge 70% in Milei's Argentina: Report
BUENOS AIRES (Argentina): Hate crimes targeting members of Argentina's LGBT community increased 70 percent in the first half of 2025, an NGO which tracks such attacks announced Monday. Between January and June, the National Observatory of LGBT+ Hate Crimes documented 102 attacks on people because of their sexuality, gender expression or gender identity -- a 70 percent increase over the same period in 2024. Some 70 percent of the victims were trans women, the observatory said. The report's authors pointed the finger at President Javier Milei, accusing him of having whipped up anti-LGBT sentiment and depicting the community as a 'social enemy.' At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, the right-wing Milei launched a broadside against what he called the 'cancer' of 'progressive ideology,' including what he dubbed 'radical feminism' and 'gender ideology.' A month later he followed a number of countries in banning gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapy for minors. - AFP
Malaysia Sun
an hour ago
- Malaysia Sun
Trump unwilling to criticize China even after being largest Russian oil buyers, targets India unfairly: GTRI report
New Delhi [India], August 5 (ANI): US President Donald Trump has been unfairly targeting India over Russian oil imports, while choosing not to criticize China, according to a recent report by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI). The report suggested that this selective approach may be driven by geopolitical calculations. As per the data from the report, China is the largest buyer of Russian oil. In 2024, China imported USD 62.6 billion worth of Russian oil, compared to India's USD 52.7 billion. Despite this, Trump has focused his criticism on India, ignoring China's bigger role. GTRI stated, 'Trump appears unwilling to criticize China, perhaps because of geopolitical calculations, and instead targets India unfairly'. The report also rejects Trump's recent claim posted on Truth Social, where he alleged that India is 'buying massive amounts of Russian oil and selling it on the open market for big profits.' GTRI clarified that this statement is factually incorrect and misleading. The think tank explained that India does not export crude oil, Russian or otherwise. India is a net importer of crude oil, and its total crude oil exports stand at zero. What India does export are refined petroleum products, including diesel and jet fuel, some of which are processed from Russian crude. This is standard practice among energy-importing countries, the report said. GTRI further stated that India's oil refineries, both public and private, operate independently in deciding where to source crude oil from. These companies do not need government permission to buy oil from Russia or any other country. Their decisions are based on commercial considerations, including price, supply reliability, and rules in export destinations. The report noted that if Indian refiners find that importing Russian crude involves risks, such as secondary sanctions or restricted access to global markets, they may reduce or stop such imports voluntarily. For example, India exported diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) to the European Union in FY2025, but these exports will now stop due to the EU's ban on products refined from Russian crude. In such cases, refiners will shift away from Russian oil without needing a government order. This trend is already visible. In May 2025, India's imports from Russia declined by 9.8 per cent, amounting to USD 9.2 billion, compared to imports in May 2024. The GTRI report concluded that India is being unfairly targeted, while China's larger role goes unquestioned, possibly due to broader geopolitical interests. (ANI)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
US explores better location trackers for AI chips, official says
Last week, Nvidia said it does not have backdoors in its chips. — AFP The US is exploring ways to equip chips with better location-tracking capabilities, a senior official said, underscoring Washington's effort to curtail the flow of semiconductors made by the likes of Nvidia Corp to China. Washington has espoused working with the industry to monitor the movements of the sensitive components, part of a broader plan to curtail smuggling and ensure American technology remains dominant. Last week, Beijing summoned Nvidia representatives to discuss US efforts around location-tracking and other alleged security risks related to its H20 chips. "There is discussion about potentially the types of software or physical changes you could make to the chips themselves to do better location-tracking,' said Michael Kratsios, one of the architects of a US AI action plan unveiled by Donald Trump last month. "That is something we explicitly included in the plan,' the White House Office of Science and Technology Director told Bloomberg Television. Trump's blueprint has provoked a backlash in Beijing, which for years railed against alleged US surveillance and Washington's efforts to curtail its tech sector. The Chinese government is particularly sensitive to semiconductor sanctions designed to counter Huawei Technologies Co or rising AI developers such as DeepSeek. Trump officials recently pledged to lift export restrictions on the H20 to China as part of a trade deal they say will secure sales of rare-earth magnets to the US. But Washington is also focused on curtailing the smuggling of chips. Kratsios said Tuesday he's not had conversations "personally' with either Nvidia or Advanced Micro Devices Inc about exploring location-tracking technology. Last week, Nvidia said it does not have "backdoors' in its chips. Kratsios, who was in South Korea to attend an APEC Digital Ministerial Meeting, took aim at China's own AI action plan, which involves forming a global organisation to devise governance and technology standards. "We believe each country should set their own destiny on how they think about regulating artificial intelligence,' he said. "The US model, which puts innovation first, will be the most attractive.' – Bloomberg
