Today, the United States announced more than $200 million in disaster and humanitarian assistance to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).  This assistance – including a nearly $133 million contribution to ICRC’s 2026 Global Appeal and $70 million to IFRC – furthers the Department’s approach of flexible humanitarian assistance awards with global coverage, enabling implementing organizations to address ongoing crises and respond to new disasters using funding they already have on hand, bypassing lengthy procurement timelines. Today’s contributions support organizations that respond quickly when disasters strike, provide unparalleled access to people in need in conflict settings, and leverage preexisting worldwide disaster and humanitarian response infrastructure.  

• Rapid, Flexible, and Efficient: Through its extensive network of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, comprising 18 million trained volunteers, IFRC delivers rapid, scalable humanitarian assistance in response to sudden onset disasters and complex emergencies.  When disasters strike, these National Societies are often first on the ground, providing immediate life-saving assistance.  This U.S. funding will help IFRC surge support to National Societies as needed, helping to meet immediate needs.  

• Worldwide Access: This contribution to ICRC will support its work to deliver life-saving assistance to people living through armed conflict.  ICRC’s unique mandate and neutral and impartial positioning enable it to achieve unparalleled access to conflict-affected populations across frontlines and in hard-to-reach areas, providing life-saving assistance to people that may otherwise be inaccessible to other humanitarian implementers.   

• Providing Efficient Assistance Through Existing Response Infrastructure:  By providing assistance through such well-known and well-established organizations, the Department is leveraging existing response infrastructure to provide assistance quickly and efficiently.  

The rapid, flexible, and global focus of this assistance complements similarly structured awards to Catholic Relief Services, UNICEF, and the World Food Program, in addition to the Department’s historic memorandum of understanding and $3.8 billion commitment to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.  By prepositioning assistance with trusted and proven implementing organizations, the Department is enabling faster, more efficient humanitarian and disaster response while reducing bureaucratic burdens on Department staff.  The United States remains the largest humanitarian donor in the world, and we continue to call on other governments and the private sector to join our push for a faster, more accountable, efficient, impact-driven, locally driven, and hyper-prioritized model of global humanitarian assistance.  

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tommy Pigott:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met today with Vietnam Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung.  The Secretary and Foreign Minister committed to deepening cooperation under the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.  The two leaders discussed areas of mutual importance, including strengthening the bilateral relationship, rebalancing trade, and expanding defense and security cooperation.

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tommy Pigott:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met in Manila with Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan to reaffirm the strength of the U.S.-Singapore strategic partnership and our shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Balakrishnan discussed our expanding cooperation bilaterally and within ASEAN in areas including emerging technologies and trade.

On behalf of the United States of America, I congratulate the Government and the people of Egypt on their 74th National Day.

As we mark this occasion, we celebrate the enduring partnership and longstanding ties between our two countries. The United States values Egypt’s important role in advancing peace, security, and prosperity in the Middle East and Africa, and we look forward to continuing our close cooperation on shared priorities in the years ahead.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on travel to Manila, Philippines, July 21-23 to engage with ASEAN and regional leaders to advance the United States’ vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, reaffirm U.S. commitment to ASEAN centrality, and strengthen the U.S.-Philippine alliance. The U.S.-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has helped Southeast Asia to grow and prosper while creating opportunities for Americans and American businesses.  Recognizing the strategic importance of Southeast Asia to the future of American security and prosperity, the United States is investing over $2.5 billion to strengthen security cooperation, build strategic infrastructure, advance technology-related cooperation, bolster energy security, and combat transnational crime in Southeast Asia.

Advancing Technology of the Future in Southeast Asia    

• U.S.-ASEAN AI SPARK:  Working with Congress, the United States will make Southeast Asia a focus for American AI exports, which will accelerate the region’s digital transformation and economic growth.  To achieve this, the United States is launching a new Pax Silica initiative, AI SPARK, which will support American AI exports in the region by providing financial and technical support to Southeast Asian governments interested in deploying the U.S. AI stack for public-sector applications.  
• Philippines Trusted Technology Roadmap:  The United States, working with Congress, plans to provide $10 million to substantially strengthen how the Philippines’ critical information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure is secured and modernized.   

Bolstering Energy Security in Southeast Asia   

• Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Threshold Program:  The MCC Board approved a $60 million Threshold Program grant to the Philippines to enable energy sector investment, strengthen energy institutions, and expand opportunities for American commercial engagement. 
• Securing Critical Minerals Supply Chains in the Mekong:  In support of the Mekong-U.S. Partnership, the United States, working with Congress, is securing critical mineral supply chains through $17 million in funding toward the Mekong Minerals Partnership.  
• Advancing Energy Infrastructure and Energy Security:  Through the Japan-U.S.-Mekong Power Partnership (JUMPP), the United States, working with Congress, intends to provide $5 million to develop regional power markets, promote LNG market development, deploy U.S. grid technologies, and strengthen capacity for reliable energy infrastructure and cross-border electricity trade across Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. 
• Philippines Critical Minerals Support:  The United States, working with Congress, plans to provide $4 million to drive mining projects toward investment and offtake and to help identify investment-scale opportunities. 

Investing Strategically in Southeast Asian Infrastructure   

• Developing Energy Infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific:  The United States is investing $1.5 billion to establish an investment platform to facilitate the buildout of energy security infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific.  This deal represents the single largest project investment in the International Development Finance Corporation’s (DFC) history. 
• Strategic Infrastructure Investments:  The United States announced plans to work with Congress to provide over $100 million in strategic assistance for infrastructure and other investments in the Philippines, focused on Subic Bay in the Luzon Economic Corridor.  The Department will fund upgrades including port facilities and a fuel storage terminal with 120+ million liters of capacity.    

Combating Crime and Enhancing Law Enforcement Cooperation  

• Combating Transnational Crime:  The United States plans to provide $2.5 million to unite ASEAN countries through tailored interventions against scams, cybercrime, drug trafficking, and money laundering.    
• Philippines Coast Guard Pier:  The United States is providing $9 million to expand a Philippine Coast Guard Pier in Palawan to enhance Philippine maritime law enforcement presence and sustain operations in the South China Sea.  

Delivering U.S. Commercial Deals

• Philippine Airlines and Boeing:  The United States welcomes the recent announcement by Philippine Airlines of its intent to purchase up to 20 Boeing 787 aircraft powered by GE Aerospace GEnx engines.  This significant announcement speaks to the deepening commercial ties between the United States and the Philippines.  
• Commercial Diplomacy:  U.S. companies operating in the ASEAN region generated over $14 billion in commercial deals over the past year, supporting the potential creation of more than 40,000 American jobs in sectors including energy, aerospace, health, technology, and transportation. 

Strengthening Security Cooperation in Southeast Asia  

• Expansion of Foreign Military Financing:  The United States will allocate $100 million in military grant assistance to the Philippines for fiscal year 2026, a $60 million increase over historical annual funding levels, to enhance the Philippines’ ability to defend its sovereignty and deter conflict.
• Increasing International Military Education and Training (IMET):  The United States is providing $21.45 million to enhance military education and training for ASEAN countries.  The United States will launch a new IMET program in Brunei and restart the IMET program in Cambodia.  
• Advancing Counterterrorism:  The United States plans to provide $19 million this year to support investigations, prosecution, information sharing, and training and equipment for Philippine counterterrorism efforts which advances the security of the American Homeland.   
• Strategic AI and Cyber for National Security:  The United States is funding a $6.5 million contract providing the Philippines access to the Rhombus AI Concierge platform, which will enable data-driven AI analytics and real-time predictive analysis to inform strategic national security decisions.  The United States is also providing $3 million for cyber-related training to the Philippines.    
• Safely Demining the Region:  The United States is providing over $130 million to continue demining and clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam as part of the United States’ commitment to war legacy efforts.  

 Improving Global Health Security  

• U.S.-Philippines Health Strategic Objective Agreement:  The U.S. Government and the Government of the Philippines signed a five-year Strategic Objective Agreement.  The agreement contains a jointly funded plan for up to $685 million to improve and sustain capacity to detect, treat, and prevent HIV and tuberculosis, and strengthen global health security.  

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tommy Pigott:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met in Manila with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. of the Philippines to reaffirm our ironclad Alliance and our shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.  They underscored the importance of upholding freedoms of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and noted the recent tenth anniversary of the July 2016 Arbitral Award in the South China Sea, confirming that there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea.

They also discussed advancing the Luzon Economic Corridor, most notably the Department of State’s commitment, working with Congress, to deliver over $100 million dollars of new foreign assistance to upgrade infrastructure and advance logistics and energy projects in Subic, as well as the upcoming inaugural Luzon Economic Corridor Investment Forum in September.

Secretary Rubio and President Marcos also discussed opportunities related to the Philippines’ membership in Pax Silica and hosting the initiative’s first Economic Security Zone in Clark.  Secretary Rubio hailed the deployment of the Expeditionary Cutter Squadron that will operate from forward locations in Singapore and the Philippines to enhance maritime interoperability and support shared regional security objectives. 

Through the five-year, jointly funded Health Strategic Objective Agreement, they also reaffirmed shared commitments to preventing the spread of infectious diseases, improving health outcomes, and building a more resilient and sustainable health system in the Philippines.  

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tommy Pigott: 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met today with ROK Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu on the margins of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meetings in Manila.  The Secretary and his counterparts emphasized the importance of working with ASEAN on issues of mutual interest, including strengthening defense cooperation and maritime security, advancing energy security, combatting cyber threats, and promoting peace and stability across Southeast Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific.

The Secretary and Foreign Ministers committed to intensifying joint efforts targeting transnational criminal organizations, including networks operating scam centers that defraud and endanger citizens across the region.  They committed to expanding trilateral discussions on Arctic issues, recognizing the region’s growing strategic importance.  They also reaffirmed commitments to defense cooperation, maritime security, and upholding freedom of navigation, and pledged continued trilateral consultations at all levels.

The Secretary and Foreign Ministers reaffirmed the importance of maintaining a unified approach toward the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), underscoring their shared commitment to the complete denuclearization of the DPRK and continued coordination to counter DPRK cyber threats and illicit activity as well as to the immediate resolution of the abductions issue.  They also emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.  The Secretary and Foreign Ministers noted with concern China’s lack of sufficient notification of their recent intercontinental ballistic missile launch into the Pacific Ocean. 

The Secretary and Foreign Ministers discussed next steps to implement the trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation on Small Modular Reactor Deployments in Other Countries signed in Ankara and to start deployment in the Indo-Pacific to advance energy diversification and technology cooperation.  They also underscored the importance of economic security, reaffirmed shared opposition to economic coercion and the weaponization of supply chains, and committed to derisking and diversifying critical supply chains and to further trusted technology cooperation.

The text of the following statement was released by the Secretary of State of the United States, the Foreign Minister of Australia, the External Affairs Minister of India, and the Foreign Minister of Japan.  

Begin text:  

As ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partners, we, the Secretary of State of the United States and the Foreign Ministers of Australia, India, and Japan, met today in Manila to reaffirm our commitment to strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific and our unwavering support for ASEAN unity and centrality. 

We are deeply invested in the region’s success and in cooperating with ASEAN and its member states. 

We discussed regional challenges and opportunities to strengthen our support for the practical implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) through our shared priorities of maritime and transnational security, economic prosperity and security, critical and emerging technologies, and humanitarian assistance and emergency response. 

We are united in our conviction that peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain underpin the security and prosperity of the region. 

End text.