US pledges $79-M military aid to PH

US Ambassador Philip Goldberg answers questions from the media at the Malacañang Palace.
(Photo from the US Embassy)

MANILA – Amid the ongoing territorial disputes, US Ambassador Philip Goldberg disclosed that the United States will be providing $79 million military fund to the Philippines this year which was higher compared to last year’s digits.

“We have upped our foreign military funding for the Philippines… It will be somewhere in the range of $79 million this year. It’s increasing and what has been proposed is something called a maritime security initiative in the region,” Goldberg said in an interview with Karen Davila on ANC’s “Headstart.”

Aside from monetary aid, Washington has been giving military equipment and other assistance to Manila since 2002.

“What we support is the legal, peaceful and diplomatic solution to the various claims in the South China Sea… It’s disappointing when one of the countries involved does not want to participate in the process like the one going on in The Hague,” he added.

It can be noted that China has repeatedly reiterated its refusal to participate in the arbitration case filed by the Philippines in an international tribunal which sought to resolve the issue on the contested waters.

“The kind of solutions that we believe are the best way forward is to settle dispute within the legal context, to talk to each other about how to go about arranging codes of conduct, so there won’t be mistakes or incidents on the sea and in the air,” the American Ambassador said.

With reports that China has been building military facilities in its reclaimed reefs, the Philippines and the United States, together with other concerned parties, expressed concern over the waters.

“At each step along the way, the general view in the region is that China is acting outside the framework that has been agreed. That is why a lot of countries are supporting the Philippines’ case,” he continued.