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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider PH exemption from US security aid freeze elates AFP

PH exemption from US security aid freeze elates AFP

Published Feb 25, 2025 06:20 am
MCA JULY 31 2024 PH US.jpg
(Front to back) BRP Ramon Alcaraz and USS Mobile sail together in the West Philippine Sea on July 31, 2024 as part of the Philippines-United States maritime cooperative activity (MCA). (Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines)

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) welcomed Tuesday, Feb. 25, the decision of the United States to exempt a portion of its foreign security assistance for the Philippines from a global freeze.

“This is a welcome development on our part and we are glad to continue,” said Col. Xerxes Trinidad, chief of AFP public affairs office.

He said the progress reflects the long-standing relations between the US and the Philippines, noting it has “further strengthened the ties between the two countries.”

It was the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) which confirmed Washington waived the freezing of $336 million in foreign military support for the Philippines.

In 2024, the US government under then President Joe Biden announced it would provide $500 million in foreign military financing (FMF) to the Philippines for the modernization of the AFP and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) amid heightened tensions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

But when Donald Trump won the US presidency in January, he ordered a freeze on the disbursement of foreign assistance by the US.

The AFP earlier assured that its capability development would continue despite the setback.

Now that a portion of the military aid would be given, the AFP said it has already planned where the money would be spent, specifically in shoring up the country’s defenses in the WPS.

“There are already particular programs that the Higher Headquarters has mapped out for this year and even in the years to come,” said Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson for WPS.

“With this particular unfreezing of the support by the US government, it only means that our programs that have been initially planned out will push through. This will include activities on sea, air, and land, and even our support systems, cyber, and other areas,” he added.

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