The US secretary of state and secretary of defense announced $500 million in military funding to bolster the Philippines' defense and development through a proposed military intelligence-sharing pact as the two countries reiterated their concerns about China's continued aggressive actions in the Asia-Pacific region.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., strengthening Manila's decades-long treaty alliance with Washington as a standoff between Philippine and Chinese forces erupted last year in the disputed South China Sea.
Marcos praised the “very open” lines of communication 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 constantly being scrutinized and re-scrutinized so that we can respond quickly.”
Marcos stressed the need for a US military presence for the sake of stability and peace in Asia.
After meeting with their counterparts in the Philippines, Blinken and Austin then announced $500 million in military funding to help modernize the Philippines' current military and coast guard.
“We both share concerns, and many other countries in the region share concerns, about a number of actions that the People’s Republic of China has taken, actions that are raising tensions in the South China Sea, the East China Sea,” including “coercive methods,” Blinken said at a joint press conference.
He reiterated the warning that the US would help defend the Philippines if Philippine troops, ships and aircraft were attacked in the Pacific region, including the South China Sea.
The US visit comes a week after the Philippines reached an interim agreement to prevent clashes around the Philippine-occupied Second Thomas Shoal, such as the one that occurred on June 17 between Philippine and Chinese forces.
Philippine forces delivered food and other supplies, as well as a new batch of Navy personnel, to their outpost on the shoal without being intercepted for the first time since last year.
However, the Philippines will continue to strengthen its territorial defense with the help of the US and other friendly military powers, and build new security alliances, said Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez.
“The supply transfer and troop rotation without confrontation is really temporary. The People’s Republic of China will not stop and neither will we,” Romualdez told The Associated Press.
The $500 million in US military funding will include funding to strengthen the Philippine Navy's capabilities.
About $125 million of it will be allocated for the construction and renovation of some Philippine military bases that will be used by US troops, under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
With strong support in Congress, U.S. military funding could double next year, “depending on our capacity to absorb it,” Romualdez said. (rd/ab)
