The US Provides Philippines With $100 Million In Foreign Military Financing

At a news conference held Oct. 14 for the visit of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan to the Philippines, U.S. Ambassador to Manila, Mary Kay Carlson, said the United States has provided the Philippines with $100 million in foreign military funding, part of which is available for the Philippine military to use as it wishes, in order to improve the Southeast Asian nation’s defense capabilities and modernize its military. Meanwhile, Carlson added the Philippines could use the allocation to offset its decision to cancel a $227 million deal with Russia.

The new military financing has improved defense relations between western allies and the Philippines under the leadership of President Marcos Jr. Previously, his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte implemented a pro-Beijing foreign policy in pursuit of closer ties with Communist China.

As of now, the Philippines was the largest recipient of US military aid in the Indo-Pacific region, having received $1.14 billion worth of aircraft, armored vehicles, small arms, and other military equipment and training between 2015 and 2022.

Through a foreign ministry official’s speech at a news conference last month, President Marcos told American president Joe Biden that he welcomed USS Ronald Reagan’s visit to the Philippines and was committed to maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea.