US vows $500 million in military financing to Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he “[looked] forward” to four more years of “strengthening” bilateral ties with the Philippines, as he and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Manila on Tuesday, July 30, for a joint bilateral meeting with their local counterparts.

The US officials are set to formally announce $500 million in foreign military financing for the Philippines, as Manila hosts the 2+2 meeting format for the first time. 

“We’re more than allies, we’re family. And it always feels that way when I’m working with our colleagues. We have common interests, common values. And so I think we’ve done a lot over the last three and a half years to continue to strengthen our alliance, and we look forward to continuing to work with you and your team to move even further,” Austin said on Tuesday morning, during a quick meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Malacañang. 

The two US officials then proceeded to Camp Aguinaldo, the Philippine military’s headquarters, for meetings with Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. 

Both Austin and Blinken reaffirmed US support for the Philippines in defending its sovereign rights, and the two officials discussed the importance of preserving the rights of all nations to fly, sail, and operate – safely and responsibly – wherever international law allows,” according to a readout from the US defense department. 

The Defense readout added: “The officials discussed ways to continue working more closely with like-minded nations, like Australia and Japan, to strengthen shared principles, including rule of law, freedom of the seas, and respect for territorial sovereignty.”

‘Genuinely historic’

Ties between the Philippines and US have been on “hyperdrive” since Marcos took office. 

In stark contrast to his predecessor, the anti-US Rodrigo Duterte, the Marcos administration has worked to bring the Philippines much closer to its former colonizer, the United States. 

It was under Marcos that the Philippines agreed to four new sites under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which allows the US to preposition assets in select military bases in the Philippines. Under Marcos, too, the two countries released updated bilateral defense guidelines.    

“I am always very happy that these communication lines are very open so that all the all the things that we are doing together in terms of our alliance, in terms of a specific context of our situation here in the West Philippine Sea, in the Indo-Pacific, are continuously examined and re-examined, so we are agile in terms of our responses,” Marcos told Blinken and Austin, during a quick meeting in Malacañang. 

Marcos went on to say he was “surprised” by the visit of the two officials, “considering how interesting your political situation has become back in the States.” 

US President Joe Biden had recently announced that he would no longer seek a second presidential term, amid pressure from within and outside his party for him to step down over age and health concerns. Biden has since endorsed US Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate. 

Neither Blinken nor Austin seemed fazed by Marcos’ observations, with the US defense chief saying that while it’s been a “great three and a half years,” he looked forward “to another three and half or another four in building, strengthening this relationship.”

Austin’s remarks drew laughter from an audience of top Philippine and US officials in Malacañang.

Blinken, after extending greetings from both Biden and Harris, said the July 2024 meeting in Manila was “genuinely historic.” 

“It’s, I think, really evidence of a steady drumbeat of very high-level engagements 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.

‘Ironclad’

The US defense official first made the disclosure on the security assistance to the Philippines ahead of their blitz across the Indo-Pacific. 

“This unprecedented provision of security assistance, which is an order of magnitude greater than what we’ve recently provided to the Philippines on an annual basis, will be a critical enabler of the Philippine defense moderation already underway,” Austin had said in a background briefing.

Closer bilateral ties and commitments to foreign military financial come at a crucial time for the Philippines, as it asserts its sovereign rights in the South China Sea, and steps up long-delayed efforts to shore its external defense capabilities. 

Superpower China continues to claim almost all of the South China Sea, despite a 2016 arbitral ruling that deemed their claim invalid. Tensions between the two Asian countries over  flashpoints in the West Philippine Sea, an area that includes the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, has worsened in recent months. 

Manila and Beijing recently made a “provisional arrangement” to avoid incidents during resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal, where a rusting warship serves as a Philippine outpost. The recent mission on July 27 was incident-free, even as Beijing insisted on, and Manila denied, a prior notification and on-site inspection agreement. 

Security was extra tight inside Camp Aguinaldo on Tuesday, July 30, ahead of Blinken and Austin’s visit. The two met with Manalo and Teodoro jointly before separate bilateral meetings and a press conference. 

This is the fourth iteration of the 2+2 meeting format between the Philippines and the United States, and the second under the Marcos administration. 

Blinken and Austin are no strangers to Manila. Blinken has dropped by the Philippines thrice in the past two years, while Austin has visited Manila twice since Marcos took office. 

The US earlier framed Austin’s visit to the Indo-Pacific as the “10 most consequential days for US defense ties in the Indo-Pacific since the start of the administration.” 

Before arriving in Manila, Blinken and Austin were in Japan for a 2+2 meeting with their Japanese counterparts. A few weeks prior, Manila was host to Tokyo’s foreign affairs and defense ministers for a Philippine-Japan 2+2 that followed the signing of the Reciprocal Access Agreement. 

The Philippines, United States, and Japan recently formalized cooperation between the three nations, through a leaders’ trilateral meeting hosted by Biden in Washington DC back in March 2024. 

The Philippines and United States are bound by at least three defense and security agreements, most notably the Mutual Defense Treaty. The two nations are obligated to help each other out in the event of an attack. 

Washington has repeatedly promised that its commitment to the Philippines and the treaty is “ironclad” and covers attacks to Philippine vessels in the South China Sea. – Rappler.com