WASHINGTON: America mentioned Tuesday (Apr 1) it has accredited a sale of US$5.58 billion in F-16 fighter-jets to the Philippines, as Washington backs its ally in rising tensions over China.
The State Division mentioned it was green-lighting the sale that features 20 F-16 jets and associated gear to the Philippines, a treaty-bound ally of the USA.
The sale will “enhance the safety of a strategic companion that continues to be an vital power for political stability, peace and financial progress in Southeast Asia”, a State Division assertion mentioned.
The sale will enhance “the Philippine Air Drive’s means to conduct maritime area consciousness” and “improve its suppression of enemy air defences”, it mentioned.
President Donald Trump’s administration has sought to redirect US army efforts to Asia to face a rising China, particularly as tensions rise over Taiwan, and to reduce involvement in Europe regardless of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Philippines and China have seen months of escalating confrontations within the South China Sea. Beijing claims nearly the whole thing of the essential waterway, regardless of a world ruling that its assertion has no advantage.
