US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin are set to announce USD 500 million in military funding to boost Philippine defenses and progress in a proposed military pact. The announcement comes amid China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the region, which has led to hostilities between Philippine and Chinese forces in the disputed South China Sea. The US has called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to fortify Manila’s decades-old treaty alliance with Washington.
US boosting alliance with the Philippines with military funding and pact amid concern over China
