US Announces $500 Million in New Military Aid for Philippines Amid China Tensions

On Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $500 million in new military aid for the Philippines while they were in Manila. Their visit comes amid soaring tensions with China in the region.

According to a joint statement released by Austin, Blinken, and their Philippine counterparts, the $500 million is coming from the 2024 Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, which was tucked into the $95 billion foreign military aid bill President Biden signed into law in April.

Blinken said at a press conference that the military will help “modernize the Filipino armed forces and coast guard.” The aid is being provided in the form of Foreign Military Financing, a State Department program that gives foreign governments money to buy US weapons.

The US and the Philippines also announced other steps to boost military ties, including a pledge to conclude a new intelligence-sharing agreement by the end of the year and more US investment in military bases in the country. Last year, Washington and Manila signed a deal that gives the US access to four more bases in the Philippines, bringing the total number of US facilities in the country to nine.

Blinken and Austin’s visit to the Philippines came after Manila and Beijing said they agreed to a deal to ease tensions in the South China Sea around Second Thomas Shoal, a Philippine-occupied reef that’s also claimed by China, Vietnam, and Taiwan. China and the Philippines have disputed the details of the agreement, signaling it may not last, and new US support could embolden Manila to push harder against Beijing’s claims.

The South China Sea has turned into a potential flashpoint for a war between the US and China since Washington has vowed the US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty applies to attacks on Philippine vessels in the waters. Blinken and Austin repeated that pledge during their visit.

“We stand by our ironclad defense commitment to the Philippines under the Mutual Defense Treaty. That extends to armed attacks on Filipino armed forces, public vessels or aircraft – including the coast guard – anywhere in the Pacific, including the South China Sea,” Blinken said.

Blinken and Austin also met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and, according to the State Department, “Underscored the United States’ ironclad commitments to the Philippines under our Mutual Defense Treaty.”

The two US officials traveled to the Philippines after visiting Japan, where they announced measures to boost the US-Japan military alliance, including a revamping of the US military command center in the country. The US is also pushing for Japan and the Philippines to increase joint military cooperation as alliance building is key to the US strategy to prepare for a future war with China in the region.