US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III assured President Marcos of the USA's continued support to the Philippine government as he emphasized that the two countries are more than just allies.

Austin said this in a bilateral meeting with Marcos following the latter's historic trilateral meeting with US President Joseph Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

In his remarks, the US official described the relationship between the US and the Philippines as being akin to that of a "family."

He likewise told President Marcos that the Philippines and the US have invested significant time and resources to address both countries’ shared security challenges.

"We’re sending our help in any way we can because, as what I often said, we’re more than allies, we’re a family," Austin told Marcos during their meeting at the Pentagon.

"We’re gonna keep building our partnership," he added.

According to Austin, the Philippines and the US have achieved great work and cooperation, and their alliance "has never been this strong to strengthen interoperability between our forces and to tackle common challenges."

He added that the two countries have expanded the operational coordination on land, sea, and in the air.

"This whole cooperation is critical to our collective security and continued prosperity across the region," Austin said.

The historic trilateral meeting aims to enhance the economic and maritime cooperation of the Philippines, Japan, and the US amid threats to the international rules-based order.

Bigger EDCA fund

Meanwhile, Secretary Austin said President Biden is seeking $128 million in congressional allocation budget to execute projects for Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in the Philippines.

"President Biden’s new request seeks 128 million dollars to execute 36 projects and enhance defense cooperation agreement size, and that would more than double the amount that we’ve invested in EDCA infrastructure," he told Marcos.

"All these underscore the strength of our alliances further, and so I look forward to hearing your views on how we can keep working together more closely than ever, including through cooperation with like-minded partners," he added.

Austin also reiterated President Biden’s assurance on the USA's commitment to the defense of the Philippines, which he described as ironclad, stressing an armed attack on the Philippine Armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific, including South China Sea will invoke US defense commitments to the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).

The EDCA is an instrument signed between the Philippines and the US in 2014, deepening defense cooperation and advancing the implementation of the MDT.

This will be done by addressing capability gaps, particularly in humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR), promoting modernization and interoperability, and helping develop maritime security and maritime domain awareness.

In 2016, the Philippines and the US agreed on five initial sites on which both sides will construct facilities and preposition equipment.

The selection of the EDCA sites is under the Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP) Strategic Basing Plan.

The identified sites are Philippine military bases to be further developed in consonance with the AFP's strategic development requirements.

The diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the US span 77 years since its formal commencement on July 4, 1946.