The Philippines will receive $500 million in foreign military financing from the United States as Washington's help for Manila's efforts to modernize its military and the coast guard.

"This level of funding is unprecedented," said US Defense chief Lloyd Austin after the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue with State Secretary Antony Blinken, Department of National Defense (DND) chief Gibo Teodoro and Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo in Manila on Tuesday, July 30.

Recently approved by the US Congress, the large funding is proof of the Biden's administration's support to the Philippines amid challenges it faces in the West Philippine Sea, Austin added.

"To defend [the Philippine] sovereignty—this is what it's all about," Blinken said in a press conference.

He made the pronouncement as he acknowledged that the Philippines' sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea is being threatened. He said the US wants to help its allies to be in a "better position" to help themselves to maintain the status quo.

The amount is the biggest foreign military financing that the Philippines will be receiving from the US ever since, Blinken said.

According to Blinken, the foreign military financing will help modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)—the two agencies on the frontline of protecting the West Philippine Sea.

It will also allow the doubling of investments on Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites, Blinken added.

Meanwhile, Teodoro said the security assistance sector roadmap will be prioritized in the funding.

"This and all EDCA investments will help serve to secure the Philippine defense posture... So the EDCA investments are not only for defense purposes, but also for civil defense purposes," Teodoro added.

On the other hand, both Austin and Blinken gave assurance that the US' commitment to the Philippines will be the same regardless of the outcome of the upcoming US presidential elections.

Since the funding was approved by the Congress, which is bipartisan, it proved that the US' support to the Philippines would remain the same regardless of their leader.

"Elections is a regular feature of our democracy. It's also a regular feature is a long-standing alliance between our countries," Blinken said.

"And that doesn't change... irrespective of the administration," he added.

Manalo believed that the increased level of funding by the US to the Philippines will not be used for any offensive purposes, but only for the Philippines' defense capability, so he does not see any wrong with it.

The four leaders held the first three the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogues in Washington. It was their first talk to be held in Manila.

Prior to the dialogue, Austin and Blinken also met with President Marcos to reiterate the US' "ironclad commitment" to the Philippines.

They reaffirmed the US' support for the Philippines in defending its sovereign rights, and the two officials discussed the importance of preserving the rights of all nations to fly, sail, and operate – safely and responsibly – wherever international law allows.

Teodoro also thanked “US government for the continued assistance in building up our capabilities which will provide a tremendous boost in order for us to establish a credible deterrent to unlawful foreign aggression.”

At present, there are nine EDCA locations in the country and these are spread across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, including some provinces which cover the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and face Taiwan in the northern part.

The locations are in Palawan, Isabela, Cagayan, Pampanga, Cebu, Nueva Ecija and Cagayan de Oro.

Teodoro stressed that the EDCA investments will help the DND’s humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts especially in this period of climate change uncertainty. Last week, typhoon-enhanced southwest monsoon (habagat) rains inundated a large part of the country, leaving 39 people dead and nearly five million individuals affected.

“The EDCA investments are not only solely for defense purposes but are also for civil defense purposes like humanitarian assistance and disaster response. They can be venues for joint cooperation and interoperability between the United States and the Philippines and multilaterally with like-minded nations,” Teodoro said.

“So these are not monodimensional but multidimensional investments that will help the development of the country and help to deter unwanted and unlawful aggression by building a credible deterrent posture,” he noted.

In terms of cybersecurity, Teodoro said that the Philippines will continue to cooperate with US by advancing the capabilities of both the DND and the AFP, particularly in terms of threat detection and protection, and in joint advance technological development.

“Naturally, a lot of our inherent hardening capabilities are included like cyber capabilities and the like. These and all the EDCA investments will serve to secure the Philippines' credible deterrent posture. Every peso or dollar spent on hardening Philippine capabilities to defend itself and to deter unlawful aggression will be a plus against any threat actor whether it be China or anyone,” he added.

During the top-level meet, the four ministers also discussed ways and means to enhance both countries’ cooperation to ensure that the Philippines becomes an “effective upholder of international law under a free and open global rules-based order.”

The declaration came as China and the Philippines agreed to deescalate tension in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) following a violent resupply mission in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal last month where a Filipino sailor lost his thumb due to a ramming incident.

Teodoro said Manila and Washington’s defense and foreign departments “will ensure more frequent and regular policy and operational coordination” to preserve peace in the region.

“We will also bolster maritime cooperative activities and expand cooperation with Japan and Australia, and other like-minded nations not only in these areas but in joint exercises and trainings as well where applicable,” he said.

Earlier this month, the Philippines and Japan signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) allowing both countries to send military forces and equipment to each other’s territory for joint exercises.

“We are optimistic that with robust cooperation in four dimensions – land, sea, air, cyber – extensive interoperability both bilaterally and with like-minded nations, the US-Philippine alliance will be a significant contributor to regional peace and stability under the regime of international law,” Teodoro concluded.