Inanunsiyo ng mga top US officials na ang Washington DC ay maglalaan ng tulong na nagkakahalaga ng USD500 milyon (humigit-kumulang PHP29.3 bilyon) para tumulong sa kasalukuyang programa ng modernisasyon ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at ng Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Ginawa nina US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III ang anunsyo sa ginanap na 2 + 2 Ministerial Meeting kasama ang kanilang mga counterpart sa Pilipinas na sina Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo at Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.,
Ang 2+2 meeting ay ginanap kanina sa Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
” We’re now allocating an additional USD500 million in foreign military financing (FMF) to the Philippines to boost security collaboration with our oldest treaty ally in the region,” pahayag ni Blinken.
Ayon kay Blinken ang nasabing grant ay panibagong hakbang para palakasin pa ang alyansa ng Pilipinas at US at maituturing na once-in-a generation investment para tulungan ang modernization program ng AFP at PCG.
Samantala, inihayag naman ni US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin nakikipag-ugnayan ngayon ang US sa Pilipinas para makamit ang isang Malaya at bukas na Indo-Pacific.
” And together we are taking bold steps to strengthen our alliance. Today, as you heard Secretary Blinken and I announced that we are poised to deliver a once-in-generation investment to help modernize the AFP and the PCG,” pahayag ni Austin.
