Heading into 2025, the US-Philippines alliance remains a strong cornerstone of Indo-Pacific regional security. Recent visits from high-level national security and military officials highlight the united American consensus on the Philippines as a strategic ally in the region.
From February 20 to 22, 2025, Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, traveled to Manila to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Manila and celebrate the United States-Philippines strategic alliance. During the trip, Admiral Paparo met with top Filipino officials, including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo, National Security Advisor Eduardo Ano, Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr., and Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. They discussed security concerns, especially maritime security and counterterrorism. Admiral Paparo also met with US and Filipino World War II veterans at the Manila American Cemetery and gave a speech honoring American and Filipino servicemembers, along with over 100,000 civilians, who lost their lives in the battle to free the capital. As geopolitical challenges continue to threaten regional security, the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Manila serves as a timely reminder that US cooperation with the Philippines is more than just a relic of the past but rather a key partnership essential to promoting security and prosperity in Southeast Asia and the greater Indo-Pacific.
A Steadfast Alliance
Admiral Paparo’s visit highlights the importance of security cooperation with the Philippines, the US' oldest ally in the Indo-Pacific. In 1951, the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) was signed between the Philippines and the United States, which states that an attack in the Pacific on either country would prompt mutual action against the common aggressor. The Treaty was strengthened by the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), reaffirmed in 2011 under the Manila Declaration, and then further enhanced with the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which allowed US military officials to access Philippine military facilities. These defense agreements and the two countries’ long history of military cooperation through decades of bilateral military cooperation have solidified the Philippines as a major security partner in the Indo-Pacific, with the US designating the country as a major non-NATO ally in 2003. They have also been put in the spotlight amidst the current geopolitical climate and recent defense developments, particularly with China's rising influence in the Indo-Pacific. Positioned between the South China Sea and the broader Pacific Ocean, the Philippines holds strategic significance in securing global trade routes—around 80% of world maritime trade passes through the South China Sea, carrying an estimated $5.3 trillion worth of commercial goods.
Given the swiftly changing security environment and the geographical location of the Philippines in the South China Sea, support for the United States-Philippines security alliance has remained ironclad from both sides. The United States and the Philippines conduct a variety of joint exercises, including the annual Exercise Balikatan, or “shoulder-to-shoulder" in Tagalog. Established under the 1998 VFA, Balikatan focuses on crisis-action planning, humanitarian assistance, and counterterrorism. The 2024 iteration included personnel from other partners, such as Australia and France. The US Marine Corps and the Philippine Marine Corps also collaborated in Exercises KAMANDAG and MASA, while the US Navy conducted Exercise Sama Sama with the Philippine Navy. Additionally, the US Army and the Philippine Army also participated in Exercise Salaknib, aimed to increase soldiers’ endurance and familiarity with combat situations in extreme tropical weather.
A Key Partner
The Philippines is also an important partner of the US defense industry. In 2013, the Philippines announced an ambitious plan to overhaul and modernize their military over the course of 13 years. In 2024, the United States announced it would provide $500 million in foreign military financing to help the Philippines in its efforts. Under this initiative, the Philippines has been actively procuring several US-made defense articles to build up its military capabilities.
In 2019 and 2022, the Philippines signed contracts with Lockheed Martin to purchase 48 Black Hawk helicopters, worth up to $865 million, increasing the country’s ability to perform search and rescue missions, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and troop transport. Between 2019 and 2021, the United States approved the permanent export of nearly $171.3 million in defense equipment to the Philippines through the Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) process. The three largest categories of these exports include firearms, close assault weapons, and combat shotguns, valued at $56.1 million; launch vehicles, guided missiles, ballistic missiles, rockets, torpedoes, bombs, and mines, totaling $35.8 million; and gas turbine engines and related equipment worth $25.3 million.
In June 2021, the US State Department also approved the potential sale of 10 F-16C and two F-16D fighter jets to the Philippines, along with associated equipment, totaling nearly $2.43 billion, with most of these fighters being built in Greenville, South Carolina. Three years later, in December 2024, the Philippines announced plans to purchase Typhon missile launchers. The Typhon missile system was deployed by the US Army to Luzon, Philippines, during the 2024 Exercise Salaknib. Built by Lockheed Martin in the United States, Typhons are long-range missile systems that can be used to launch the SM-6 or Tomahawk missiles. Though the United States has stated the systems will not be permanently stationed, the US military has closely collaborated with the Philippine military to explore possible avenues of use in the event of an external attack.
What’s Next
Given the Philippines’s continued strategic importance, the US-Philippines alliance looks to remain a key fixture in the Indo-Pacific. So far in 2025, both countries have engaged in a series of high-level meetings between both government and military officials. On January 22, two days after President Trump took office, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. flew to Washington to meet with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz where the two reaffirmed their security partnership and cooperation. On February 14, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo during the Munich Security Conference, where Secretary Rubio “noted his enthusiasm for building an even more invested and enduring relationship.”
Then, on February 21, the United States exempted $336 million toward modernizing Philippine security forces amidst the Trump administration’s pause on foreign aid. Looking forward, both the United States and the Philippines remain optimistic that security cooperation will continue and their partnership will continue to strengthen in the years to come. “Both countries are committed to the treaty alliance and to efforts to further strengthen our defense cooperation and interoperability,” said Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza via text message to reporters, as reported by Inquirer. “We will continue to engage the US government on the importance of our bilateral work in supporting our shared goals and priorities.”
Most recently, on March 10, 2025, the Philippine Navy hosted a courtesy call with Rear Admiral Christopher J. Cavanaugh, US Navy Commander of Submarine Group Seven, which directs all submarine activities throughout the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Arabian Sea. Rear Admiral Cavanaugh met with Vice Admiral Jose Ma Ambrosio Q Ezpeleta to discuss developing the Philippine Navy’s submarine capabilities particularly when it comes to anti-submarine warfare. The two officials also explored future opportunities for joint military exercises as well as training for Philippine personnel on operating unmanned surface vessels.
The US-Philippine alliance looks to remain a pivotal partnership amidst changing geopolitical challenges in the Indo-Pacific. The long-shared history, along with the recent recommitment of US support signal the bilateral relationship is one that will continue to contribute toward regional security for years to come.
Alex Vu is a Spring 2025 Young Professional at the East-West Center in Washington. Alex is currently a junior at the University of South Florida, studying Econometrics & Political Science.
Lois Ramilo is a Spring Young Professional at the East-West Center in Washington. She is a recent graduate from the University of California, San Diego where she majored in international relations.
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