The United States announced $500 million in foreign military financing for the Philippines on Tuesday, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with leaders in Manila to reinforce cooperation on issues such as freedom of navigation and cybersecurity.
Speaking at a joint news conference after talks with their Filipino counterparts, Austin called the financing a “once-in-a-generation investment” to help modernize the armed forces of the Philippines.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the military investments will boost the country’s credible defense posture and help to deter “unwanted and unlawful aggression.”
Blinken said both the United States and the Philippines, as well as other countries in the Indo-Pacific region, share concerns about China’s actions in the South China Sea and the East China Sea. He welcomed a recent agreement between China and the Philippines to prevent clashes around the Philippine-occupied Second Thomas Shoal, saying such diplomatic resolutions should be “the standard, not the exception.”
“We are living in an incredibly complex moment, and as a result, the partnership between our two countries is more important than ever and our commitment to growing it now and for the years ahead is resolute,” Blinken said.
Earlier Tuesday, Blinken and Austin reinforced U.S. commitment to “upholding international law in the South China Sea” as they met with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the officials also underscored the United States’ ironclad commitments to the Philippines under our Mutual Defense Treaty.
The talks in the Philippines were the latest in a series of engagements in the region, including a meeting Monday among the United States, Japan, India and Australia, as well as U.S.-Japan meetings.
