MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines’ bilateral defense agreements with the United States are intact and Manila expects to receive a big infusion of outstanding military aid from its longtime ally, Jose Manuel Romualdez, the Philippine ambassador to Washington, told reporters.
An infusion of US$336 million earmarked by Washington as part of its Foreign Military Financing Assistance program to the Southeast Asian nation was still in the pipeline, he said during an in-person appearance Monday before the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines, or FOCAP.
This money is part of a $500 million military aid package that the previous U.S. administration had announced last year to help the Philippines defend its shores amid its territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea.
Diplomats from both countries were also negotiating a one-on-one meeting between Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and U.S. President Donald Trump, who returned to office in January, according to Romualdez.
“We are pleased with this development after we worked on getting this exemption. This is another significant sign that our strong partnership and alliance with the United States remains intact with the new Trump administration,” the ambassador said.
Romualdez was replying to reporters’ questions about Washington’s defense support for Manila under the new Trump administration, and more than a month after the White House had issued an executive order freezing billions of dollars in foreign aid.
“Right now, the $336 [million] has been announced, but the full amount of $500 million is forthcoming,” Romualdez said on Monday. “We are hopeful that the succeeding monies will be made available to us in the next couple of years.”
BenarNews, an RFA affiliate, reached out to the White House and U.S. State Department on Monday, but officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Romualdez’s statements.
RELATED STORIES
Trump administration: Manila still has Washington’s ‘ironclad’ backing in South China Sea
Philippines and US stage joint air patrol, exercise over South China Sea
Manila: Chinese helicopter came within 3 meters of Philippine aircraft
The ambassador also said that President Marcos had asked to meet with President Trump soon to discuss the defense alliance of the two nations, but Romualdez said details were still being finalized.
He said that the Philippine government was also in talks with U.S. Sens. Bill Hagerty, a Tennessee Republican, and Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, about their proposed bill that seeks to grant assistance totaling $2.5 billion to help modernize the Philippine armed forces between 2025 and 2029.
Both senators have “indicated that they will push for the approval of this funding,” Romualdez said.
The offices of both Sens. Hagerty and Kaine did not respond immediately to queries from BenarNews.
Among bilateral military pacts, the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty binds
both countries to come to each other’s aid in times of aggression. The Biden administration (2021-2025) had said it was ready to come to the Philippines’ aid in the South China Sea if the Manila government requested it.
Since taking office in 2022, Marcos has rekindled the country’s alliance with treaty ally United States – a sharp contrast to his predecessor’s pro-Beijing policy.
Since Trump took office on Jan. 20, senior officials from the new administration – namely U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth – have separately issued statements assuring Manila that Washington’s commitment to the Philippines’ defense of territorial waters in the South China Sea remained “ironclad.”
Ukraine-Russia war
Romualdez appeared at FOCAP three days after Trump, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a heated discussion in front of reporters at the Oval Office on Friday about Ukraine’s war with Russia, which invaded the neighboring country three years ago.
Trump and Vance appeared to be angry because the Ukrainian leader was pushing back against their calls for a cease-fire with Russia. Last month, the Trump administration signaled that it planned to start peace talks with Moscow to end the Ukraine war.
A Filipino security analyst said the incident should prompt Manila to minimize its military dependence on Washington.
“Although U.S. defense officials are still adamant on saving [United States’] defense ties with the Philippines, the recent Trump-Zelensky [dust-up] gently reminded Manila to practice self-reliance,” said Chester Cabalza, head of International Development and Security Cooperation, a Manila think-tank.
When asked for his reaction to the tense scene at the White House, Romualdez said the Philippines must be prepared to adapt to any potential future changes in military aid from the U.S. He emphasized that each country should strengthen its defense and economic security.
“So, I think that this is just … a scenario that can happen at any given time. And it’s good that we have this opportunity to be able to prepare ourselves for any eventuality,” Romualdez said.
“And that’s always been what we have been doing, even during the time of former President Rodrigo Duterte, that we would like to put up our own resources to be able to modernize our armed forces and to be able to bring our economy to where we want it to be so that we can be economically prosperous and have economic security to go with that,” he added.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.