The US will help bolster the Philippines’ arsenal and step up joint military exercises, Manila’s defense chief said, as tensions between Washington and China escalate.
The longtime US ally is expecting a sustained US$500 million in annual defense funding from Washington through 2029 to boost its military capabilities and deter China’s “aggression” in the region, Philippine Secretary of Defense Gilberto Teodoro said in an interview in Manila on Thursday.
“It is a no-brainer for anybody, because of the aggressive behavior of China,” Teodoro said on close military ties with the US under President Donald Trump. “The efforts for deterrence, for joint resilience and alliance building will not change.”
Photo: Reuters
As the trade war and geopolitical tensions between the US and China heat up, the Philippines has emerged as a prominent partner for the Trump administration in countering Beijing as it steps up its military presence in places like the South China Sea.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made Manila his first stop in his Asia trip last month, where he outlined steps to strengthen the “ironclad” alliance with the Philippines.
Trump’s government also recently exempted military aid to the Philippines from a funding freeze and the Department of State told Congress this month it has approved a possible US$5.6 billion sale of F-16 jets to Manila. The Philippines is counting on US support, as it tries to fend off China’s sweeping claims in regional waters.
While US funding would initially be used for equipment to help better monitor the disputed sea, the Philippines also wants to acquire its own medium-range capability missile system “as soon as possible,” Teodoro said.
Buying the land-based Typhon missile system — which the US deployed to the Philippines during last year’s drills — is among the options, he said.
The defense department is considering tapping domestic capital markets to secure loans and augment funds for military upgrades, he added.
The Typhon system can fire multipurpose rockets, which include Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range long enough to hit large portions of China and its deployment in the Philippines has angered Beijing.
Manila also expects the US and other partners to bring more advanced weapons to the Philippines for training in the coming years, he added.
“There will be increased tempo of joint exercises. as our platforms become more interoperable, not only with the United States,” but with other defense partners, including Japan and Australia, he said.
US and Philippine troops are scheduled to hold their annual flagship joint drills this month where the US plans to send, for the first time, an anti-ship missile system and uncrewed surface vehicles to the Philippines.
With the Chinese economy “not in the best of shape,” Teodoro said Beijing could at most engage in “more external activities in order to galvanize support for them in the guise of the need to protect themselves against the United States.”
China this week imposed an 84 percent tariff on all imports from the US, in response to the US’s 125 percent levy on Chinese goods, isolating the world’s second-largest economy after holding off on additional charges on other trade partners for 90 days.
The levy for China comes in addition to a 20 percent levy put into place earlier this year over what Washington sees as Beijing’s role in fentanyl trafficking.
In the face of the intensifying spat, Teodoro is optimistic about relations with the US.
“The United States is essential for security and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” he said.
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