Phl gets US military aid boost amid sea row

MANILA, Philippines - The United States has allocated more than $120 million in military aid to the Philippines this year, the biggest in about 15 years, a Filipino diplomat said yesterday. The aid comes amid rising tensions with China over the disputed South China Sea.

Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia said Manila was also in talks with the United States to acquire a fourth Hamilton-class cutter to strengthen Philippine capability to patrol its waters.

“We got the largest-ever allocation from the US government this year to enhance the defense and security of our country,” he told members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Manila.

Cuisia said Manila received $79 million in annual military aid this year, compared to about $50 million in 2015.

He said Manila would get an additional $42 million from the new US Southeast Asia Maritime Initiative, a maritime capacity-building program announced by US Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who is visiting Manila next week.

The two amounts represent the biggest amount of military aid since 2000, when the US military returned to its former colony after the American bases closed in 1992.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to parts of the waters, through which about $5 trillion in trade passes every year.

Beijing’s more assertive pursuit of its claims over the past year or so has included land reclamation and the construction of air and port facilities on some isles and reefs.

The Philippines has sought international arbitration on the dispute and a decision is expected late this month or in early May.

Cuisia also urged American business leaders to articulate that the business community will not tolerate the current situation in the region that is dictated by China.

“While   the   diplomats, lawyers and military strategists work on avoiding military conflict, the voice of the business community is just as powerful. I encourage AMCHAM (American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines) to weigh in on the issue to ensure that business interests are protected,” Cuisia said during the American businessmen’s general membership meeting and business leadership program in Makati.

He said that sustained economic growth and prosperity are underpinned by political stability and “no single country should be allowed to jeopardize the region’s peace and security.”

The US has always maintained that its economic prosperity is closely linked to the Asia-Pacific. 

US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said that the potential for deepening economic engagement is tremendous.

Cuisia echoed that the potential is great but this could only happen if peace and stability in the South China Sea remain as constant variables.