The United States has nearly tripled the amount of military aid to the Philippines in 2012 over last year’s $11.9 million, upping the amount to $30 million, the Manila Bulletin reported Thursday.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario made the announcement that the United States doubled military aid for the fiscal 2012 year, the publication said. Originally the United States was to give $15 million in 2012.
“We also need to deter any additional incursions into our seas where we have sovereign rights,” he said, referring to the spat between China and the Philippines over an area in the South China Sea a few weeks ago.
“We are submitting a list of hardware that the U.S. can help us out with. This would be in terms of patrol vessels, patrol aircraft, radar systems, coast watch stations,” del Rosario told the newspaper.
The $30 million is less, however, than the $50 million that was allocated in 2003 to help the Philippines deal with al-Qaeda-linked militants, Reuters reported.
The United States has withheld around $3 million in financing to the Philippines for extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses, the Bulletin reported.
The foreign affairs head pointed out that the report stipulates that Manila must take steps to respect human rights and prosecute those responsible for the killings. The Philippines, del Rosario said, has “effectively taken such steps.”
