US to give $500-million for PH military, coast guard

The US on Tuesday announced a fresh $500-million funding for the Philippines' military and coast guard as the countries sought a new key accord on real-time information-sharing and defense technology cooperation amid a shared concern over an increasingly aggressive China.

The military aid will be used for "hardening" Philippine capabilities to deter unlawful aggression, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said as he and Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo met with their US counterparts, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

“The priorities will be laid down in the security sector assistance roadmap. Naturally, a lot of our inherent hardening capabilities are included like cyber capabilities and the like. These and all the EDCA investments will serve to secure the Philippines' credible deterrent posture,” Teodoro said in a press conference.

“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,” he added.

The officials reaffirmed the two nations' commitment to their decades-old alliance and highlighted the rise of high-level engagements on defense, security, climate change, cybersecurity, trade, and economy.

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

EDCA sites

The $500 million, equivalent to about P29.32 billion, includes an allocation of more than $128 million for EDCA infrastructure projects that Biden had sought from the US Congress.

This portion will be used for the construction, development, and enhancement of areas within existing Philippine military bases that will be utilized by American troops under the two countries’ 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

Teodoro noted that the investments for EDCA will also be used for humanitarian assistance and disaster response. The USAID is planning to preposition disaster relief supplies at an EDCA location later this year.

“They can be venues for joint cooperation and interoperability between the United States and the Philippines and multilaterally with like-minded nations,” he said.

“So these are not monodimensional but multidimensional investments that will help the development of the country and help to deter unwanted and unlawful aggression by building a credible deterrent posture,” he added.

West Philippine Sea, China aggression

Blinken and Austin’s attendance in the talks, called the 2+2 meeting, underscored Washington’s high-profile support for its ally at a time of heightened conflicts with China over disputed territories in the South China Sea, particularly in the Philippine-occupied Ayungin Shoal, which Beijing also claims.

This is the first 2+2 in Manila since the format was introduced in Washington in 2012.

Before the talks, Blinken and Austin called on President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who stressed the need to keep Philippines-US communication lines “very open” and for the two sides to be “agile in terms of our responses” in the West Philippine Sea and the Indo-Pacific region. Marcos Jr. used the Philippine name for areas in the South China Sea that is within the country’s territory.

Blinken and Austin declared anew America’s “ironclad commitment” to help defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack against its forces following repeated and increasingly violent Chinese harassment of Filipino Coast Guard personnel and troops conducting resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal.  

Manalo said he discussed the situation in the West Philippine Sea during the meeting and restated that the issue is a priority for the Philippine government.  

“We discussed recent developments and we are committed to continue our work together in upholding Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction,” he said.

“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,” Blinken  said.

Blinken welcomed the agreement between China and the Philippines on the rotation and resupply of the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, and said the US was pleased that there was no untoward incident in the latest mission.

For the first time in several months, no confrontation was reported when the Philippines last Sunday delivered food supplies and other necessities and transported a new batch of navy personnel to Ayungin, where a rusting World War II-era vessel, deliberately grounded by Manila in 1998, serves as a military outpost. China claims the South China Sea nearly in its entirety even as it overlaps with the territories of its smaller Asian neighbors.

According to Austin, the US during the meeting reaffirmed the Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines, which 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,” Austin said.

Austin added that they also discussed how to make the PH-US alliance more secure through technology and security and cyber cooperation.

“We reiterated our shared intent to conclude a general security of military information agreement by the end of the year. That's crucial to our shared cybersecurity goals,” he said.

Austin added that the US and Philippine officials stressed the importance of keeping their ties with like-minded allies and partners including Australia and Japan.

Manila and Washington maintained that efforts to boost their alliance were not directed at any country as they vowed to uphold a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, including the South China Sea.

Information-sharing

The four officials also announced “progress” in the talks toward a General Security of Information Agreement (GSOMIA), to conclude it before yearend. 

GSOMIA would enhance information-sharing between the two allies and allow for greater transfer of US defense technology and information to the Philippines.

Blinken said these security collaborations would strengthen the Philippines’ military capability as it shifts to external defense.

Manalo said that they have productive discussions in areas such as trade and economic cooperation, infrastructure and security cooperation. 

“We are committed to following through on the ongoing cooperation with the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, and the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment,” Manalo said.

“In this regard, we look towards identifying and implementing projects for investment in the Luzon Economic Corridor,” he added. — NB/BM, GMA Integrated News