United States allocate 500 million dollars to Philippines to strengthen defense

By Alimat Aliyeva

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin announced the allocation of $500 million to strengthen the defense of the Philippines, Azernews reports.

Blinken and Austin made the announcement after talks with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos in Manila.

It is noted that the allocated amount will be used to modernize the Philippine army, the border guard service, as well as to strengthen cooperation with the United States in the field of security.

"Our countries and many other countries in the region share concerns about some of the actions that China is taking. We are talking about actions in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, which are aimed at escalation," Blinken said at a press conference.

He also said that the United States would provide assistance to the Philippines if the forces of this Asian country were attacked in the Pacific Ocean.