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Senate President Francis Escudero said Wednesday that the United States' decision to support the country’s military financing would not ''provoke'' China.

"I do not think this will provoke or agitate China because strengthening one's own military, like them and most countries, in order to keep the peace is the right and obligation of every country," Escudero said in a statement.

Escudero also thanked the US for the additional military assistance, adding that it showed that the two countries were friends.

"I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to the United States for this unprecedented assistance to and investment in the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), which we definitely need and have been needing," he said.

"This shows that we (the US and the Philippines) are indeed friends and, more importantly, equal partners in maintaining peace, freedom of navigation, and a rules-based approach to differences and disagreements,” he added.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III and Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously announced the allocation of an additional $500 million in assistance to fund the modernization of the AFP after the 2+2 meeting on Tuesday. Jaspearl Tan/DMS