Military says $500M aid shows US ‘steadfast support’ for AFP upgrade

THE Armed Forces yesterday said the $500-million security assistance the United States will give to the Philippines shows the US’ determination to help upgrade the military’s capability to defend Philippine territory.

The assistance was announced Tuesday by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III and US State Secretary Antony Blinken after a meeting with their Filipino counterparts, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr and Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, in Camp Aguinaldo.

Austin described the assistance as a “once-in-a-generation investment” meant to modernize the Armed Forces and the Philippine Coast Guard.

The Armed Forces’ Western Command is at the forefront of protecting the country’s interests in the West Philippine Sea where Chinese vessels have been harassing Philippine ships.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines warmly acknowledges the allocation of $500 million in foreign military financing,” AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said yesterday.

“It highlights the steadfast support for enhancing the capabilities of the AFP and the Philippine Coast Guard, ensuring we can effectively fulfill our territorial defense mission and contribute to regional security and maintaining a free and open Indo-pacific,” she also said.

Teodoro has said the assistance, along with the $128 million earmarked for projects under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), will booster the country’s credible defense posture. He also said every peso or dollar spent to improve the capability of the Philippines to defend itself and deter unlawful aggression “will be a plus factor against any threat, whether it be China or anyone.”

China has become aggressive in its claims in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea in the past years and has harassed Philippine resupply mission to troops stationed at Ayungin Shoal in the past months.

The Chinese did not interfere in the latest resupply mission, which was conducted last Saturday, after officials of both countries recently reached a “provisional arrangement” on the conduct of the resupply missions.

Padilla declined to further comment on the US assistance, saying, “all further details will be deferred