BY REUTERS

The United States Senate has passed a bill allocating $2.5 billion or about P146.4 trillion worth of security assistance to the Philippines, which will now be sent to President Donald Trump to be signed into law.

Introduced by Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), the bipartisan bill, called Philippines Enhanced Resilience Act (PERA Act), authorizes up to $500 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grant assistance to the Philippines from 2026 to 2030, a total of $2.5 billion over five years.

PERA Act is part of the policy bill, called National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), authorizing Pentagon to spend $900-billion.

The legislation seeks to “deepen U.S.-Philippines defense cooperation and strengthen the defense capabilities and interoperability of the U.S.-Philippines Alliance to meet growing threats in the Indo-Pacific,” according to a joint statement by Hagerty and Kane.

Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said this is the biggest defense assistance package by the U.S. to Manila, its oldest treaty ally in Asia.

“This was unprecedented,” Romualdez told GMA News Online.

“Contrary to what some quarters in our country are saying about the national defense strategy released by the White House that the Philippines is being left out, this $2.5 billion PERA passed by the US Congress supported by both Republicans and Democrats, is a clear indication that U.S. commitment to our mutual defense is rock solid.”

The Philippines, under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has sought to upgrade its defense capabilities as it confronts an increasingly aggressive China in the resource-rich South China Sea, which has flared in recent years. The years-long disputes also involve Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

China’s vast territorial claims in the waters have sparked tensions and violent confrontations with smaller claimants, like the Philippines and Vietnam.

The Philippines largely won a landmark case against China’s massive claim in the South China Sea before an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands in 2016, but Beijing refused to recognize the ruling.

“As the United States and the Philippines face growing challenges to security and prosperity in the West Philippines Sea and the wider Indo-Pacific, it’s critical for our two nations to deepen cooperation and raise our decades-long Alliance to even greater heights,” said Hagerty.

Under the bill, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, is required to submit an annual spending plan to Congress on how the U.S. government would spend FMF as security assistance to the Philippines.

China’s assertive behavior in the South China Sea prompted serious concerns and condemnations from several countries after its coast guard vessels have repeatedly blasted water cannons, used military-grade lasers and blocked Philippine government ships from conducting patrols in the West Philippine Sea, that part of the South China Sea that is nearest to the Philippine archipelago, but being claimed by China as its own.

While it has no territorial claims in the resource-rich waters, Washington has patrolled the area for decades and has repeatedly warned China it’s obligated to defend its ally if Filipino forces come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

“The Philippines is a key ally of the United States, and we must strengthen cooperation with our partners across the region to counter China’s aggression and help ensure freedom, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” said Kaine. “I’m glad that our legislation to significantly boost our security partnership with the Philippines was included in this year’s defense bill.”

PERA bill requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and other appropriate department/agency heads, to submit an annual report to Congress on steps taken to enhance the U.S.-Philippines defense relationship.

A description of the capabilities needed to modernize the defense capabilities of the Philippines must also be provided, such as on coastal defense, long-range fires, integrated air defenses, maritime security, manned and unmanned aerial systems, mechanized ground mobility vehicles, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, defensive cybersecurity, and any other defense capabilities that the Secretary of State determines, including jointly with the Philippines.”