Potential sale of US fighter jets comes as tensions mount between the Philippines and China over maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
The United States has approved the potential sale of $5.58bn in F-16 fighter jets to the Philippines, describing the proposed deal as supporting the security and foreign policy concerns of the US by improving the capability of a “strategic partner”.
Describing the Philippines as “an important force for political stability” in Southeast Asia, the US State Department announced on Tuesday that the sale had been approved and could see 20 F-16 warplanes and related equipment transferred to Manila.
The acquisition of the F-16s would improve “the Philippine Air Force’s ability to conduct maritime domain awareness and close air support missions and enhance its suppression of enemy air defences,” the State Department said.
“The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region,” it added.
Manila’s potential purchase of the F-16s comes amid months of mounting tension with Beijing and confrontations between the Philippine Navy and Chinese coastguard forces in the disputed South China Sea, where China has claimed almost complete ownership despite an international legal ruling that such an assertion has no merit.
The Philippines has publicly expressed interest in acquiring F-16s from Washington since at least the administration of former Philippine President Benigno Aquino, which ended in 2016.
Since then, Manila and Washington have significantly deepened their defence cooperation, particularly under the current President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, who took office in 2022 and began pushing back on Beijing’s sweeping claims to the South China Sea.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said during a visit to the Philippines last week that Washington and Manila must stand “shoulder to shoulder” against “threats from the communist Chinese”.
News of the potential sale of advanced fighter aircraft to the Philippines also comes as China on Monday and Tuesday conducted military drills around Taiwan to simulate a blockade of the self-ruled island. Beijing has promised to take the island back under its control either by force or peaceful means.
Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner said his country would “inevitably” be involved should Taiwan be invaded by China.
“Start planning for actions in case there is an invasion of Taiwan,” General Brawner told troops in northern Luzon island, without naming the potential invader.
“If something happens to Taiwan, inevitably we will be involved,” he said.
Joint US-Philippine military exercises, scheduled for later this month, will be conducted in northern Luzon, the part of the Philippines nearest Taiwan, Brawner said.
“These are the areas where we perceive the possibility of an attack. I do not want to sound alarmist, but we have to prepare,” he said.
In December, the Philippines angered China further when it announced the planned acquisition of the US mid-range Typhoon missile system in a push to secure its maritime interests.
Beijing warned such a purchase could lead to a regional “arms race”.