Malaya Movement USA condemns the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue on July 30, 2024 between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin with Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo and Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro. In this meeting, $500 million in US foreign military financing of the Philippine military was announced as part of the effort to supposedly strengthen US-PH defense priorities and “modernize” the Armed Forces of the Philippines. An additional $128 million is being allocated towards infrastructure projects on seven of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) bases.

Malaya Movement USA stands in full defense of our sovereign waters in the Philippines in light of the recent collision between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the Ayungin Shoal on October 21. We condemn China’s incursion and aggression in the West Philippine Sea, and denounce President Biden’s statement invoking the Mutual Defense Treaty(MDT) against China as a result of the incident. The U.S. military’s posturing in this increasingly volatile region puts the Philippines in a dangerous position.

The Balikatan, or “shoulder-to-shoulder,” Exercises is an annual military event between the United States and the Philippines meant to reinforce the Philippines’ role as a U.S. military collaborator by increasing training, intelligence, and capacity to respond to external threats to U.S. interests in the Asia Pacific. In essence, the exercises are a theater for warfare and US military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Malaya Movement USA unequivocally asserts Philippine sovereignty against the Balikatan Military Exercises between the Philippines and the United States. We in the Malaya Movement USA condemn any provocation for escalation of hostilities and war mongering between the two superpowers. It is on this basis that we stand firmly that the Philippines does not stand to gain from Balikatan.

Malaya Movement USA condemns the addition of four military bases from which the U.S. can operate out of in the Philippines as part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).