The China -Philippine South China Sea dispute exacerbates US $ 500 million in military

Bayeng government announced on Tuesday that it will pursue US $ 500 million military assistance to the Philippines to further strengthen the defense alliance between the two countries. At the same time, the Philippine military is working hard to cope with the competition of Chinese ships in the South China Sea.

Two years ago, a little Fetonand Marcos became the Philippine President, the US and the Philippine government deepened the military alliance.Marcos' predecessor tended to be good at China, and he chose to deepen contact with the United States.

Marcos has lived in Hawaii during his family's political exile. Since taking office, he has held one -on -one talks with President Biden many times. He hosted a meeting of diplomacy and military officials in Manila on Tuesday.This is the first time the allies have held so -called 2+2 meetings in the Philippines.

Biden will establish an alliance as a sign of its foreign policy, especially in Europe and Asia. In these two regions, different alliance combinations aim to fight or deter Russia and China.Military operations.Secretary of State Anthony Brinken and Minister of Defense Laud Austen III arrived in Manila on Monday night, which was part of their diplomatic visits to India-Pacific.

The background of the talks held in Manila is full of variables: In recent months, the Chinese maritime police ship has adopted more hostile operations on the Philippine warships in the South China Sea. Not only that, Macos and other Asian leaders are still guessingWho will succeed Biden as the president of the United States.Is He Jinli, who is currently the vice president and is considered to be a nominated by the Democratic Party, or the former President Donald Trump who claims to be the US military alliance is a waste of resources?

Marcos and Austin mentioned their background when they visited the Presidential Palace on Tuesday morning.

"Considering that the political situation in the United States has become so interesting, I am a little surprised, but I am still glad that you can take time to meet us," Marcos said.

Brinton specifically mentioned He Jinli in his speech, and he said that he brought "greetings from President Biden and Vice President He Jinli and Minister Austin."

At a press conference held at the Philippine military headquarters in the afternoon, Brincken, Austin and Philippine officials emphasized an additional military assistance of $ 500 million, and said that the funds will be used to help the PhilippinesThe army and coastal guards realize modernization.

Austin said: "This level of funding is unprecedented. This is the clear information that the Bayeng-He Jinli government, the United States Congress and the American people support the Philippines."

Under the leadership of the Biden and the Macos administration, the United States and Philippine Alliance relations have been substantially improved for the first time in February 2023.At that time, during Austin's visit to Manila, the two governments announced that the Philippines allowed the United States to use additional four military bases.The northernmost base is close to Taiwan.The agreement allows the United States to use these bases for humanitarian purposes, but if a war occurs, such as an attempt to invade Taiwan -Manila and Washington, officials can decide to let the U.S. military use these bases for fighting support.

At a press conference on Tuesday, the Philippine Minister of Defense Gilbert Torodo said that the Philippines expects to strengthen cooperation at these military bases.

The relationship between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea is the most tense.For a few months, the Chinese maritime police ships have been stopped to prevent the Philippine naval ships from transporting supplies to the Marine Corps on the Madre Mountains on the Renai Reef.Both China and the Philippines claim that the area is its own territory.The Chinese maritime ship collisted with the Philippine vessels and fired a water cannon to it; in an incident, the two vessels collided, causing the thumb of a Philippine sailor to be cut off.

Austin emphasized at a press conference that the common defense clauses of the US -Philippine Treaty are suitable for their actions against the two countries in the South China Sea.

China and the Philippines signed an agreement last week that China will allow the Philippine Navy to perform a supply task with the Madelehan.Some people questioned whether there was a conflict between the two governments of the government, but the Philippines performed a supply task on Saturday to strand the stranded vessels on Saturday without being disturbed by Chinese ships.

Brinken said that when Vientiane Laos met with Wang Yi, the highest foreign policy official in Laos last Saturday, he told Wang Yi that China must restrain hostile operations in the South China Sea and the Philippines.

During the visit to Tokyo and Manila, Brinkean, Austin and their assistants coordinated with their assistants and issued strong information to fight back to China's tough moves on territorial issues.

In Tokyo on Monday, three foreign ministers from Japan, Japan, India, and Australia issued a joint statement -these four countries constitute non -military partnership called QUAD (QUAD) -condemn ChinaMilitary aggression in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.Like a similar statement issued by ministers of various countries in New Delhi last year, this statement was not named, but it obviously refers to China.

"We expressed serious concerns about the situation in the East China and South China Sea, and reiterated that we resolutely oppose any unilateral action that tried to change the status quo through force or coercion," the four highest diplomats stated in the latest Quartet statement.

"We continue to expressed serious concerns about the militaryization of controversial islands and reefs and the coercion and intimidation exercises in the South China Sea," they said."We also expressed serious concerns about the use of coastal guards and maritime militia vessels, more and more use of various hazardous exercises and the destruction of other countries' maritime resource development activities."

Like a statement issued in New Delhi in 2023, he did not name China.Some Asian countries hope that the United States will maintain a strong military, diplomatic, and economy in the region to check and balance China, but at the same time they also hope to avoid irritating China.China is rapidly strengthening its military forces, especially naval power, and is also the largest trading partner in many Asian countries.

The Quartet Dialogue is an example of the Bayeng government who revives the lack of vitality.The Biden government has also established a new three -sided military partnership framework to establish this relationship with Japan and South Korea, as well as Japan and the Philippines.In April of this year, when Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida visited Biden in the White House, the leaders of the three countries announced the relationship between the United States and Japan and the Philippines.

On Sunday, on the first day of visiting Japan, Brinken and Austin held a meeting on extending deterrence with officials at the same level."Extending deterrence" refers to the deterrent protection provided by the US nuclear umbrella to nuclear -free countries.This is the first time that the conventional 2+2 meetings are arranged for extended deterrence, highlighting the concerns of the increasingly growing military conflict in the Asia -Pacific region.

After a press conference in Agenaldo camp, Brinken, who flew to Singapore, patronized the handmade chocolate shop Auro on the way to the airport.Blingken will visit six countries this time, which is his 18th visit to the Indo -Pacific region.He drank a cup of Mocha and tasted the chocolate and the salted Philippines with purple potato puree.With a box of chocolates presented by the owner of the shop, Mark Okobo, he left the last stop in Manila.