MANILA: The Philippine government is hoping to receive additional military assistance from the United States (US) despite the global pause on foreign aid announced by President Donald Trump.
This was disclosed by Philippine Ambassador to US Jose Manuel Romualdez (pic) on Tuesday (Feb 25), adding that the pause on global security foreign aid would not affect the Philippines.
“There will be no major changes for the Philippines. In fact, we are hoping to receive even more assistance as we push to modernise our Armed Forces as quickly as possible due to the challenges we face in the Indo-Pacific region,” Romualdez said in an interview with Radyo 630.
“And our message to our friends in the US Congress is very simple: If our Armed Forces are strong, we can truly be a partner of the US,” he added.
The Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday confirmed that the US has exempted the Philippines from its pause on global security foreign aid.
According to Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Teresita Daza, the Philippine government has been informed of the “waiver issued to a portion of the US foreign military financing for the Philippines.”
She said the Philippines and US remain committed to their treaty alliance and to efforts to further strengthen defence cooperation and interoperability. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
