(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.
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.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a joint courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace for the 4th Philippines-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue. The 2 2 meeting will highlight the two countries’ defense, security and economic cooperation and further boost their alliance.
PPA POOL / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a joint courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace for the 4th Philippines-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue. The 2 2 meeting will highlight the two countries’ defense, security and economic cooperation and further boost their alliance.
PPA POOL / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a joint courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace for the 4th Philippines-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue. The 2 2 meeting will highlight the two countries’ defense, security and economic cooperation and further boost their alliance.
PPA POOL / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a joint courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace for the 4th Philippines-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue. The 2 2 meeting will highlight the two countries’ defense, security and economic cooperation and further boost their alliance.
PPA POOL / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a joint courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace for the 4th Philippines-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue. The 2 2 meeting will highlight the two countries’ defense, security and economic cooperation and further boost their alliance.
PPA POOL / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a joint courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace for the 4th Philippines-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue. The 2 2 meeting will highlight the two countries’ defense, security and economic cooperation and further boost their alliance.
PPA POOL / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a joint courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace for the 4th Philippines-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue. The 2 2 meeting will highlight the two countries’ defense, security and economic cooperation and further boost their alliance.
PPA POOL / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a joint courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace for the 4th Philippines-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue. The 2 2 meeting will highlight the two countries’ defense, security and economic cooperation and further boost their alliance.
PPA POOL / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a joint courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace for the 4th Philippines-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue. The 2 2 meeting will highlight the two countries’ defense, security and economic cooperation and further boost their alliance.
PPA POOL / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a joint courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace for the 4th Philippines-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue. The 2 2 meeting will highlight the two countries’ defense, security and economic cooperation and further boost their alliance.
PPA POOL / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a joint courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace for the 4th Philippines-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue. The 2 2 meeting will highlight the two countries’ defense, security and economic cooperation and further boost their alliance.
PPA POOL / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a joint courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace for the 4th Philippines-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue. The 2 2 meeting will highlight the two countries’ defense, security and economic cooperation and further boost their alliance.
PPA POOL / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a joint courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace for the 4th Philippines-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue. The 2 2 meeting will highlight the two countries’ defense, security and economic cooperation and further boost their alliance.
PPA POOL / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
“We’re now allocating an additional $500 million in foreign military financing to the Philippines to boost security collaboration with our oldest treaty ally in this region,” Blinken said.
“Both of us share concerns, and many other countries in the region share concerns, as well, about some of the actions that the People’s Republic of China has taken, escalatory actions in the South China Sea, the East China Sea,” including “coercive methods,” he added in a joint news conference.
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Anti-US protesters hold rallies at the Boy Scout Circle and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Blinken and Austin were at the military’s national headquarters for a dialogue with their Philippine counterparts. The protesters demanded the junking of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). PHOTOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
He renewed a warning that the US would help defend the Philippines if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under attack in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea.
Blinken and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi sparred on Saturday over the South China Sea when they met on the sidelines of the foreign ministers meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Laos.
Wang told Blinken the United States should “refrain from fanning the flames, stirring up trouble and undermining stability at sea,” according to a foreign ministry statement.
“The risks and challenges facing China-US relations are still rising,” he said.
Teodoro said the additional funding would serve to secure the Philippines’ “credible deterrent posture.”
“Every peso or dollar spent on hardening Philippine capabilities to defend itself and to deter unlawful aggression will be a plus against any threat actor, whether it be China or anyone,” Teodoro said.
Apart from the $500 million assistance, Austin said the US would earmark a separate $128 million funding for repairing runways, building disaster response warehouses, and improving critical infrastructure in Enhance Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites.
The US officials also offered condolences over the dozens of deaths wrought by typhoon-worsened monsoon rains in recent weeks and announced an additional $1 million in aid for the victims and to help devastated communities recover.
The visit came the week after the Philippines and China reached a temporary arrangement to prevent clashes around the Philippine-occupied Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, like the violent faceoff between their forces on June 17.
Philippine forces transported food and other supplies and a fresh batch of navy personnel Saturday to Manila’s territorial outpost at the shoal without a confrontation for the first time since last year.
But the Philippines would continue strengthening its territorial defense with the assistance of the US and other friendly military powers and build new security alliances, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said.
“The non-confrontational resupply and rotation is purely temporary. The People’s Republic of China will not stop, and we are determined just as well,” Romualdez said.
The $500 million in US military financing would include funding for reinforcing the Philippine Navy’s capability. About $125 million would be used for construction and other improvements in parts of Philippine military bases to be occupied by US forces under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, he said.
With strong support in Congress, US military funding may double next year “depending on our capacity to absorb it,” Romualdez said.
Progress in negotiations on a proposed military intelligence-sharing pact, the General Security of Military Information Agreement, was announced by Austin, who said that the accord may be signed later this year.
The agreement, similar to ones Washington has forged with other allied countries, would allow the US to provide high-level intelligence, more sophisticated weapons, including missile systems, and access to satellite and drone surveillance systems to the Philippines with an assurance that such intelligence and details about sophisticated weapons would be closely kept secret in a highly secured manner to prevent leaks, two Philippine officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to discuss the issue publicly.
Philippine efforts to obtain sophisticated weapons from the US military in the past have been hampered by the lack of such an intelligence deal.
In his meeting with Blinken and Austin, Marcos alluded to the intense political divisions in the US ahead of the presidential elections this year.
“I’m a bit surprised, considering how interesting your political situation has become back in the States, but I’m glad that you found the time to come and visit with us,” Marcos said.
Meanwhile, Romualdez said US support for the Philippines would “absolutely” not change regardless of who becomes America’s next president.
Numerous countries have expressed concerns about the implications of former president Donald Trump returning to the White House in January after President Joe Biden withdrew and threw his support to Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Both Republicans and Democrats are in full agreement for the Philippines,” he said, adding that both sides have given assurances of continued support to Manila.
Marcos approved last year an expansion of the US military presence in four more Philippine military camps under the 2014 defense agreement, and the largest war drills between Filipino and US forces have been staged under his administration, drawing opposition and alarm from China, which said that increased deployments of American forces would endanger regional peace and security.
The Philippines has responded that it has the right to move to safeguard its territorial interests and national security.
WITH ASSOCIATED PRESS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Be the first to comment