United States Multi-Billion DEFENSE-PACK to BUILD and MODERNIZED Philippine Military

Funded under the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a plan to counter China throughout the Indo-Pacific through the construction of infrastructure and investment into regional partners. The Philippines will receive an additional $128 million in EDCA funding on top of a once-in-a-generation investment of $500 million in foreign military financing.
Dedicated to the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine Coast Guard during the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in Manila. According to a statement, the new funding covers projects across seven of the nine total EDCA sites.
Although many countries in the Indo-Pacific region receive U.S. military assistance, the Philippines receives the most in Southeast Asia. From 2015 to 2022, Manila received more than $1.2 billion worth of aircraft, armored vehicles, small arms, equipment and training, $475 million of it in aid.
The Philippines’ inclusion in the proposed $8.1 billion aid package of the United States House of Representatives would help strengthen the country’s defense capabilities, especially amid escalating tensions in the West Philippine Sea. The approved amendment to the bill, introduced by California Rep. Darrell Issa that encourages the US State Department to allocate $500 million in foreign military financing to the Philippines.
The proposed allocation of military aid to the Philippines, would expedite the country’s military modernization and bolster law enforcement capabilities, which are crucial steps for maintaining sovereignty and regional peace.
The Balikatan Exercise between the armed forces of the Philippines and the United States aimed to enhance cooperation, increase capabilities and improve the interoperability of the two countries. This iteration includes a bilateral command post-exercise, that will strengthen the Allies’ ability to plan, coordinate, and provide command and control of forces together against a range of scenarios and simulated challenges.
This training event will also enable the AFP and the U.S. military to refine tactics, techniques, and procedures related to maritime security, and deconflict fires and maneuver in a shared and contested battlespace.
Field training exercise events will take place across the Philippines to test the Allies’ capabilities in combined arms live-fire, information and intelligence sharing, communications between maneuver units, logistics operations, amphibious operations, and many other skill sets.
The United States and the Philippines will also develop new military facilities, and enhanced existing bases to support their growing military operation, as China continue to challenge the world-based order. With this, new airports and seaports will be developed, across the archipelago, strategically located near the hotly contested waters of the west Philippine Sea and Taiwan Strait.
While this construction is permitted under EDCA, it is funded under the Pentagon’s Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI). With China identified as the pacing threat, the PDI aims to strengthen regional deterrence through investments in capabilities, concepts and infrastructure. For fiscal year 2024, the Pentagon requested $9.1 billion for PDI.

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