PH to get $500M military aid from US

(UPDATES) THE United States' top diplomat and defense chief announced $500 million in military funding Tuesday to boost Philippine defenses and progress on a proposed military intelligence-sharing pact as both allies renewed their concerns over China's continuing aggressive actions in the region.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with 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.

Marcos hailed «very open» communication lines 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.»

COURTESY CALL President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a joint courtesy call in Malacañang on July 30, 2024 for the 4th Philippines-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

He renewed the Philippines' commitment to strengthen its working relationship with the US in terms of the two nations' alliance and issues in the West Philippine Sea and the Indo-Pacific region.

Blinken also reaffirmed the US' ties with the Philippines, saying the upcoming meeting was «genuinely historic» as it was the first time that Manila would be hosting the two countries' 2+2 joint ministerial meeting with Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.

«It's, I think, really evidence of a steady drumbeat, a very high-level engagement between our countries that are covering the full range of issues and opportunities that bring us together, not only security but also economic, and we're truly grateful for this partnership,» he said.

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After the 2+2 meeting, Blinken and Austin announced the $500 million military funding to help in an ongoing modernization of the Philippine military and coast guard and boost security collaboration amid shared concerns over China's assertive actions.

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