-
Nissanka leaves Sri Lanka in sight of third Test win over England
-
Kendrick Lamar to headline 2025 Super Bowl halftime show
-
Thousands defy roadblocks in rally for Pakistan ex-PM Khan
-
Roglic wins record-equalling fourth Vuelta
-
Russia advances in east Ukraine, launches deadly air strikes
-
Cowboys quarterback Prescott agrees record $240 mln extension
-
Swiss double in Paralympic wheelchair marathons, Dutch women retain basketball title
-
New 'Beetlejuice' creeps its way to top of N.America box office
-
South Africa captain Kolisi leaves Racing 92: French Top 14 club
-
Funeral for slain athlete Cheptegei in Uganda on Sept 14
-
Dolphins star Hill arrested on way to season-opener
-
Smith hits back after England collapse against Sri Lanka
-
Weather delays final regattas in Louis Vuitton Cup
-
Venezuela's Gonzalez Urrutia: from placeholder to opposition pointman
-
Marquez thanks rain for San Marino MotoGP win as leader Martin pays for gamble
-
Boeing, union reach preliminary deal to avert Seattle-area strike
-
Neuville wins Acropolis Rally to close in on world title
-
Venezuela's opposition figure fled to Spain to save 'his life'
-
Trump, Harris tied on eve of televised presidential debate
-
Paris Paralympics the greatest ever, say former Olympics executives
-
Pope exit revives Sri Lanka's hopes in third Test against England
-
Gunman kills 3 Israelis at West Bank crossing as Gaza war rages
-
Marquez wins San Marino MotoGP as leader Martin pays for rain gamble
-
Greece to hike fee for cruise passengers to Mykonos and Santorini
-
Carsley's 'refreshing' England overhaul launches new era
-
Swiss double in wheelchair marathons on final day of Paralympics
-
France's Le Pen urges Macron to hold referendum to break deadlock
-
Typhoon Yagi weakens, toll rises to 14 in Vietnam
-
India's Randhir Singh elected Asian Olympic chief
-
Under pressure, UN winds down 'unique' Iraq probe into IS crimes
-
'Proud' athletics great Weir calls time on marathon Paralympic career
-
'Brave' Afghanistan can beat anyone, says skipper ahead of NZ Test
-
Vaughan warns England against 'taking the mick' after Sri Lanka collapse
-
England's Moeen Ali retires from international cricket
-
Japan's Hirata holds off inspired Smyth to win on Asian Tour
-
China's Paralympic domination fails to ignite enthusiasm back home
-
Sporting a feathered headdress, Pope finds 'Eden' in Papua New Guinea
-
Super Typhoon Yagi toll rises to 9 in Vietnam after landslide
-
Indonesian villagers dress corpses in ritual for the dead
-
Williamson expects 'phenomenal' Root to keep breaking records
-
The end of Olympic escapism for gloomy France
-
Amy Adams gets real about motherhood in 'Nightbitch'
-
Venezuela says presidential opposition candidate has left country
-
Women ride Pakistan's economic crisis into the workplace
-
Wallabies 'fell of cliff' in loss to Pumas, says coach Schmidt
-
Child abuse scandals hang over pope's East Timor visit
-
Biden team, end in sight, keeps hope on Gaza truce despite setbacks
-
Sabalenka dedicates US Open to family 'who never gave up' on dream
-
Venezuela takes diplomatic jab at Brazil in spat over election
-
Multiple people shot along highway in US state of Kentucky
Blinken says US to provide $500 mn in military funding to Philippines
The United States will provide $500 million in military funding to the Philippines, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday, as Washington boosts ties with Manila in the face of China's growing assertiveness.
Blinken was in Manila with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as part of an Asia-Pacific tour to strengthen Washington's latticework of alliances aimed at countering Beijing.
"We're now allocating an additional $500 million in foreign military financing to the Philippines to boost security collaboration with our oldest treaty ally in this region," Blinken told a joint news conference.
Blinken described it as a "once in a generation investment" to help modernise the Philippine armed forces and coast guard.
Blinken and Austin met with President Ferdinand Marcos, who has taken a strong stand against Chinese actions in the South China Sea, before holding "2+2" talks with their Philippine counterparts Enrique Manalo and Gilberto Teodoro.
The latest high-level US visit follows a series of escalating confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the disputed waterway that have raised concern that Washington could be dragged into a conflict due to its mutual defence treaty with Manila.
The additional funding is part of the $2 billion in foreign military financing approved by the United States in April.
It comes as the Philippine modernises its armed forces, one of the weakest in Asia, and bolsters its coast guard.
The Philippines' proximity to the hotly contested South China Sea, as well as self-ruled Taiwan, would make it a key partner for the United States if a conflict were to break out in the region.
Beijing claims almost the entire waterway, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, and considers democratic Taiwan to be part of its territory.
There has been a revolving door of top US officials passing through the Philippines since Marcos took office in 2022 and adopted a more US-friendly foreign policy.
Marcos expanded an agreement giving American troops access to nine Philippine military bases, including in the far north of the country, which has infuriated Chinese leaders.
The agreement allows US troops to rotate through the bases and also store defence equipment and supplies at them.
Marcos told Austin and Blinken on Tuesday that he was "very happy" about the open lines of communication with the United States, which helped Manila be "agile in terms of our responses" on issues including the South China Sea.
Blinken and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi sparred on Saturday over the South China Sea when they met on the sidelines of the foreign ministers meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Laos.
Wang told Blinken the United States should "refrain from fanning the flames, stirring up trouble and undermining stability at sea," according to a foreign ministry statement.
"The risks and challenges facing China-US relations are still rising," he said.
H.Portela--PC