The U.S. government has vowed to provide $500 million in funding for the Philippines’ military and coast guard as the Southeast Asian nation faces ongoing tensions with China in the hotly contested South China Sea.
The two were joined by their Philippine counterparts, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo and Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr.
Blinken described the funding as a “once-in-a-generation investment” to support the “modernization” of Filipino forces and the coast guard, as they “transition to focus on external defense.”
He noted that Manila and Washington—as well as other countries in the region—share concerns about “some of the actions that the People’s Republic of China has taken,” including “escalatory actions in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and elsewhere.”
“We’re building on a lot of progress the Philippines has already made to be better positioned to defend their sovereignty,” Blinken said.
The Philippines has long been one of the largest recipients of U.S. foreign military financing in the Indo-Pacific region, he said.
Austin called the level of funding “unprecedented,” adding that it “sends a clear message of support for the Philippines, from the Biden-Harris administration, the U.S. Congress, and the American people.”
‘Credible Deterrent to Unlawful Foreign Aggression’
The money will “provide a tremendous boost” in helping the Philippines establish a “credible deterrent to unlawful foreign aggression,” Teodoro said.The three officials also reaffirmed the “critical role” of the U.S.–Philippines alliance in “realizing our shared vision of a free and open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient Indo-Pacific region,” according to the statement.
A 2016 ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague declared that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) maritime claims over the South China Sea lacked legal basis under international law.
The regime in Beijing has refused to recognize the ruling.
It comes as the CCP’s territorial claims in the South China Sea—an important trade route—have led to increasingly violent confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in recent months.
Multiple other violent incidents have prompted Manila to overhaul and modernize its armed forces and coast guard.