Donald Trump’s parting gift to Philippines: defence equipment worth US$29 million

Name: Typhoon Goni, Philippines’ strongest storm of 2020, kills at least 10 people
Uploaded: 2020-12-08T14:38:11.000Z
Duration: 2 min 1 s
Description: Typhoon Goni, Philippines’ strongest storm of 2020, kills at least 10 people

The offering from US Acting Defence Secretary Christopher Miller was the latest gift to Manila from Washington as it aims to counter China in the region

An article written by Miller for a local newspaper rejecting China’s claims in the South China Sea drew a harsh rebuke from Beijing’s envoy to Manila

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Christopher Miller, centre, with Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, left, and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr. Photo: US embassy in Manila

Raissa Robles

Published: 10:38pm, 8 Dec 2020Updated: 1:01am, 9 Dec 2020

The Philippines on Tuesday received an unexpected parting gift from the outgoing administration of US President Donald Trump: US$29 million worth of defence equipment.

Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who received the donation from US Acting Defence Secretary Christopher Miller, called the unexpected gift “a symbol of the Philippines and the United States’ continued warm alliance”.

The military largesse from the US was the latest among a slew of offerings Washington has recently given the Philippines as it looks to counter China in the South China Sea.

The other gifts have included US$18 million worth of precision-guided weapons; a ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial System, which went to the Philippine Navy; and US$23.4 million worth of aid for the victims of a recent typhoon that lashed the country.

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Typhoon Goni, Philippines’ strongest storm of 2020, kills at least 10 people

Lorenzana noted that “the Philippines is the largest recipient of US military assistance in the Indo-Pacific region”, although he did not say what he and Miller had talked about during their meeting earlier in the day.