US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday amid simmering hostilities between Beijing and Manila over the disputed South China Sea.

Blinken and Austin met Marcos at the Malacanang Palace ahead of meetings with their Filipino counterparts later in the day.

Blinken also announced $500 million (€461.9 million) in military funding on Tuesday for the Philippines to strengthen its defenses.

Manila, Washington praise alliance

Marcos praised the partnership and emphasized the need for agile responses to regional challenges.

"I'm always very happy that these communication lines are very open so that all the things that we are doing together, in terms of our alliance, in terms of the specific context of our situation here, in the West Philippine Sea and in the Indo-Pacific, are continuously examined and re-examined so we are agile in terms of our responses," Marcos said.

Blinken told Marcos the US is "truly grateful for this partnership."

The Philippines' proximity to the South China Sea, as well as self-ruled Taiwan— another region claimed by China — makes it a key regional partner for the US.

The Philippines and the US share a mutual defense treaty, obligating each to defend the other in any "armed attack" on vessels, aircraft, military, or coast guard forces anywhere in the Pacific region — which according to Washington includes the South China Sea.

China claims a majority of the South China Sea to the west of the Philippines as its sovereign territory. Manila disputes this claim.

US military aid to the Philippines

"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 said in a press meet.

The funding includes $125 million for Philippine military bases used by US forces.

Both countries are also negotiating an intelligence-sharing agreement to enhance security cooperation.

The fund is part of $2-billion aid package the US Congress okayed for Indo-Pacific countries for "confronting Chinese aggression."

According to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, Blinken and Austin discussed with Marcos "their shared commitment to upholding international law in the South China Sea."

"The two secretaries underscored the United States' ironclad commitments to the Philippines under our Mutual Defense Treaty," Miller said in a statement after the meeting.

China's actions worry neighbors

China's growing military and diplomatic influence has raised challenges for its neighbors.

Manila currently has a "provisional arrangement" with Beijing to ease tensions after "intentional-high speed ramming" incident by the Chinese Coast Guard led to a Filipino sailor losing a finger last month.

On Monday, Blinken met with foreign ministers from Australia, India and Japan, members of the Quad, and released a joint statement expressing concern over Beijing's dangerous maneuvers in the South China Sea, and pledged to boost maritime security in the region.

China accused the Quad of "artificially creating tension, inciting confrontation and containing the development of other countries," while defending its "normal military development and national defense policy."

ss/rc (AP, AFP, Reuters)