US Pledges $500 Million to Bolster Philippine Military Defences

Published on July 31, 2024

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. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the funding in a press conference alongside Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the headquarters of the Philippine Armed Forces in Camp Aguinaldo, Manila, on July 30. The two were joined by their Philippine counterparts, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo and Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr, at the conference. 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.”...

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