U.S. to provide $500 million defense support to Philippines

The United States pledged on Tuesday to provide $500 million in funding to the Philippines to upgrade its military and coast guard equipment, as the Southeast Asian country faces increasingly aggressive behavior from China in the disputed South China Sea.The funding, described by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as an "unprecedented" level for such defense financing, was announced in Manila where Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their Philippine counterparts, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, met.Austin said at a press conference after …READ FULL ARTICLE