US agrees $500m military funding for Philippines defence forces

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, centre, greets US secretary of state Antony Blinken, left, and secretary of defence Lloyd Austin at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe, Pool)

Washington’s top diplomat and defence chief announced $500m in new military funding on Tuesday to boost the Philippines’ external defence and progress on a proposed military intelligence-sharing pact as both allies renewed their concerns over China’s continuing aggressive actions in the region.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken and defence secretary Lloyd Austin met with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who has fortified Manila’s decades-old treaty alliance with Washington as hostilities between Philippine and Chinese forces flared since last year in the disputed South China Sea.