Philippines keen on India joining ‘Squad’ grouping to counter China

The Philippines and its allies are looking to widen the Squad grouping of nations to include India and South Korea, the Philippines’ Armed Forces chief General Romeo S. Brawner said on Wednesday.

The Squad is an informal grouping that includes Australia, Japan, the Philippines and the US to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region.

Its defense forces conducted joint maritime activities in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea since last year.

Brawner’s remarks at the three-day Raisina Dialogue security forum, which concluded in New Delhi on Wednesday, come at a time when Manila and Beijing have seen confrontations escalate in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

Beijing claims almost all of the strategic waterway disregarding claims by the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

A 2016 arbitration ruling invalidated China’s claim over the waterway through which $3 trillion in commerce moves annually, but Beijing does not recognize the decision.

“Together with Japan and our partners we are trying to expand the squad to include India and probably South Korea,” Brawner said in a panel discussion that included his counterpart from Japan, the chief of the Indian Navy, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Australia’s chief of Joint Operations.

“We find commonality with India because we have a common enemy. And I’m not afraid to say that China is our common enemy. So, it’s important that we collaborate together, maybe exchange intelligence,” Reuters reported Brawner as telling media, adding that his country already had a partnership with the Indian military and defense industry.

The Raisina Dialogue is a multilateral conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics convened annually by the ministry of external affairs and Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in New Delhi since 2016.

The 10th edition of the conference was inaugurated on Monday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

Luxon said New Zealand is looking for stronger ties with India and is deliberating a free trade pact to strengthen bilateral relations with the subcontinent.

The New Zealand premier was invited this year as a keynote speaker.

The theme of the event this year was titled ‘Kālachakra-People, Peace and Planet,’ and saw about 3,500 participants from 125 countries. Kalachakra is wheel of time in English.

The broad topics for discussion this year included politics, sustainability, technology, economics, development and peace.