US announces USD 500 mln for Philippines defenses

KUALA LAMPUR, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced USD 500 million in new military funding on Tuesday to boost the Philippines' external defense over China's continuing "aggressive actions" in the region. Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has fortified Manila's decades-old treaty alliance with Washington as hostilities between Philippine and Chinese forces flared since last year in the disputed South China Sea. "We're now allocating an additional USD 500 million in foreign military financing to the Philippines to boost security collaboration with our oldest treaty ally in this region," Blinken said. He described the aid as a "once in a generation investment" to help modernize the Philippine armed forces and coastguard. For his part, Austin said the funds demonstrate the commitment of the US to take "bold steps to strengthen our alliance," adding "this level of funding is unprecedented." Marcos hailed "very open" communication lin es between Washington and Manila, adding that the two countries' treaty alliance and key issues in the South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific region "are continuously examined and reexamined so we are agile in terms of our responses." Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Defense Austin hosted their Philippine counterparts for a "2+2" ministerial in April 2024, noting that the US and the Philippines expect to hold an inaugural Democracy Dialogue later in 2024. Source: Kuwait News Agency