Biden inks $8-B military aid for Pacific allies but PH needs to work Congress to get its slice

By Rodney Jaleco | Date 05-5-2024

WASHINGTON D.C. —  The Philippines and the United States called on China to comply with the 2016 arbitral ruling that rejected its expansive nine-dash-line claim over the South China Sea and “cease its aggressive and dangerous actions” that violate the Philippines’ freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

The meeting comes on the heels of a massive $95 billion foreign aid bill signed by President Joe Biden. While the bulk of that assistance will go to Ukraine and Israel, it also provides more than $8 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region to counter threats from China. 

However, the way the bill was written, most of the money earmarked for the Indo-Pacific theater will go to the US itself.

The US and Philippines held their 11th Bilateral Strategic Dialogue on April 22 & 23. They complemented the so-called 2+2 State and Defense Ministerial Dialogue last year that paved the way for the expansion of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with four additional sites in Northern Luzon and Palawan in closer proximity to the two projected “flashpoints” with China across the Taiwan Strait and the Spratly Islands, respectively.

 In a joint statement, the two sides reiterated the Pentagon’s commitment to invest $128 million in Fiscal Year 2025 (starting in September) for EDCA facilities, where the US Agency for International Development (USAID) would also stockpile disaster relief supplies. They would also finalize a Philippine Security Sector Assistance Roadmap and a General Security of Military Information Agreement – a precursor to more excellent intelligence gathering – by the end of the year.

“The two sides called upon the PRC (China) to comport its maritime claims in the South China Sea with the international law of the sea as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to respect the Philippines’ sovereign rights and jurisdiction,” the statement read.

They also called on China to “comply with the final and binding July 12, 2016 judgment in the Philippines v. China arbitration and to cease its aggressive and dangerous actions that are inconsistent with its obligations.”

The two longtime allies also reiterated their opposition against “any threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”. The two sides also reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

The greater part of the defense assistance for Taiwan will go toward submarine infrastructure and development ($3.3 billion) – money that will go to US submarine manufacturers, not the Asia-Pacific region – and replenishing US weapons to Taiwan and regional allies.

“It will have a much more immediate impact on American jobs,” noted the Foreign Policy Research Institute, adding the “aid” will go to constructing a $1.9 billion Columbia-class nuclear-powered submarine and another $200 million for a Virginia-class submarine. Those two projects are expected to benefit 16,000 suppliers in all 50 states.

What will perhaps impact regional security more directly is the $2 billion earmark for Foreign Military Financing (FMF) that can be used for Taiwan and other countries in the Indo-Pacific to purchase US arms. 

A pair of bills in the US Senate and House of Representatives aim to ensure the Philippines takes a share of that FMF facility. Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee sponsored the Philippine Enhanced Resilience Act (PERA) to provide $500 million annually in FMF for the Philippines for FY25 through FY29.

In the House of Representatives, a bipartisan trio of longtime Philippine allies, including the only Filipino-American in Congress, Representative Bobby Scott (his maternal grandfather immigrated from the Philippines during the Spanish-American War) of Virginia, and Representative Darrell Issa of California, a champion of Filipino WWII veterans rights, have offered a counterpart measure to the Senate bill to provide $2.5 billion over five years in FMF for the Philippines. 

But something needs to be more assured or easy on Capitol Hill. The Philippines will have to mount a vigorous lobby to get a slice of the billion-dollar military aid unless, of course, events and circumstances intervene and make that help indispensable for the US.