Philippines to get up to US$3.5 billion defence aid to counter ‘serious threats’

Washington is set to deepen its defence support for the Philippines after approving billions of dollars for a loan and a grant to its Southeast Asian ally next year to counter what an American senator has called “serious threats” from China and its partners. Philippine defence officials have welcomed the approval by the House and Senate in Washington as further evidence of the US commitment to their alliance, even as analysts caution that the bill under the US National Defence Authorisation Act...