The Philippines will be receiving from the US $70 million in assistance for the infrastructure improvements of the country’s military, in the next two years.
US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson disclosed this on Wednesday as she expressed the US' willingness to extend help to the country as it is "looking at more ways to expand" the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and "directly strengthen the work" of both countries.
"These improvements are designed to enhance cooperative defense capacities and support Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Response activities, in ways that best meet the needs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the alliance," Carlson said at a Mangrove Forum held at the US Embassy in Manila.
On which specific projects the US wants the Philippines to use the assistance for, Carlson said it should be decided by Department of National Defense Office-in-Charge Jose Faustino Jr.
She said the US will not give a list of what it wants, although it encourages the country's military to identify which will ensure the people and water security and territorial integrity, among other things.
The $70 million military assistance is different from the another $100 million that the US State Department wants to make available for the Philippines, probably to "offset" the country's military modernization program.
Meanwhile, despite challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, the American diplomat believed that the US and the Philippine militaries managed to maintain their alliance "at the tactical level" of security cooperation.
So now, what the US wants to do is to complement this know-how "by revving up the strategic, policy-level direction in the alliance," Carlson added.
"In the coming months, we expect to hold our Bilateral Strategic Dialogue (BSD), and a 2+2 Dialogue of our senior-most foreign and defense officials,” the envoy said, adding these meetings will bring opportunities to explore ways to modernize the alliance of both countries.