US pledges $500M in military support to Philippines amid South China Sea disputes

• The funding is part of an agreement to deepen defense cooperation amid ongoing tensions with Beijing in the disputed South China Sea.
• The funding is a once-in-a-generation investment to modernize the Filipino Armed Forces and Coast Guard.
• It will also boost the Philippines’ humanitarian assistance and disaster response capabilities.

On Tuesday, the US announced $500 million in military funding to modernize the Philippine armed forces. The allies agreed to deepen defense cooperation amid ongoing tensions with Beijing in the disputed South China Sea.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the funding after meeting in Manila with their Philippine counterparts, Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.

“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 — new steps to strengthen the alliance, a once-in-a-generation investment to help modernize the Filipino Armed Forces and Coast Guard,” Blinken told reporters.

The US committed to boosting its defense aid for the Philippines following a series of maritime confrontations between Chinese coast guard ships and Philippine vessels in the strategic waters claimed by Beijing.

“Both of us share concerns, and many other countries in the region share concerns as well, about some of the actions that People’s Republic of China has taken, escalatory actions in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and elsewhere.”

Last month, during a resupply mission on the Second Thomas Shoal, the Chinese coast guard rammed and boarded Philippine naval vessels. This area of contested waters has become a central flashpoint between the two countries.

The US and the Philippines have a defense treaty, and Washington has repeatedly warned that an American military response could be triggered by a Chinese attack on Filipino ships.

“This level of funding is unprecedented and it sends a clear message of support for the Philippines from the (Joe) Biden-(Kamala) Harris administration, the US Congress and the American people,” Austin said.

“During our meeting, we also reaffirmed that the mutual defense treaty remains the bedrock of our alliance. And let me be clear, the mutual defense treaty applies to armed attacks on either of our armed forces, aircraft or public vessels anywhere in the South China Sea.”

Manila and Beijing have overlapping claims in the resource-rich waterway, where a significant portion of the world’s commerce and oil transits.

Over the past few years, China has increased military activity in the area, with its Coast Guard regularly encroaching on Philippine waters. This occurs despite a 2016 ruling by an international tribunal in The Hague that dismissed Beijing’s expansive claims.

On Tuesday, the Philippines and the US agreed to strengthen cooperation in cybersecurity and other areas, aiming to enhance the Southeast Asian nation’s resilience against external threats.

“Every peso or dollar spent on hardening the Philippines’ 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. He added that the new funding will also boost the Philippines’ humanitarian assistance and disaster response capabilities.

“So these are not mono-dimensional but multidimensional investments that will help in the development of the country and help to deter unwanted and unlawful aggression by building a credible deterrent posture.”

Don McLain Gill, an international studies lecturer at De La Salle University in Manila, described the US defense aid as “of great importance” for both countries.

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