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【文/观察者网 张菁娟】在南海局势持续升温之际，菲律宾从日本追加采购了5艘价值4亿美元（折合人民币约为28.9亿元）的巡逻船。    WASHINGTON -- Millions of Social Security recipients will get a 3.2% increase in their benefits in 2024, far less than this year's historic boost and reflecting moderating consumer prices.The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, means the average recipient will receive more than $50 more every month beginning in January, the Social Security Administration said Thursday. The AARP estimated that increase at $59 per month. “This will help millions of people keep up with expenses,” said Kilolo Kijakazi, Social Security’s acting commissioner.About 71 million people — including retirees, disabled people and children — receive Social Security benefits. Thursday's announcement follows this year’s 8.7% benefit increase, brought on by record 40-year-high inflation, which pushed up the price of consumer goods. With inflation easing, the next annual increase is markedly smaller.“Compared to last year's 8.7% increase, this is going to feel small and the perception is that its not keeping up with the inflation and the higher costs that retirees are still seeing,” said Martha Shedden, president of the National Association of Registered Social Security Analysts.On top of that, an anticipated increase in Medicare premiums for 2024 will eat into the Social Security cost-of-living bump.Medicare hasn’t announced the increase for traditional Medicare, but said the cost of Medicare Advantage plans is expected to remain stable.Still, senior advocates applauded the annual Social Security adjustment.“Retirees can rest a little easier at night knowing they will soon receive an increase in their Social Security checks to help them keep up with rising prices,” AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins said. “We know older Americans are still feeling the sting when they buy groceries and gas, making every dollar important." Social Security is financed by payroll taxes collected from workers and their employers. The maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes will be $168,600 for 2024, up from $160,200 for 2023. Retirees whose sole income comes from Social Security are not subject to taxes on that income.Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, an advocacy group for the social insurance program, said that the COLA is a “reminder of Social Security’s unique importance" and that “Congress should pass legislation to protect and expand benefits.”However, the program faces a severe financial shortfall in the coming years.The annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report released in March said the program’s trust fund will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2033. If the trust fund is depleted, the government will be able to pay only 77% of scheduled benefits, the report said.There have been legislative proposals to shore up Social Security, but they have not made it past committee hearings.A March poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that most U.S. adults are opposed to proposals that would cut into Medicare or Social Security benefits, and 79% of people polled said they oppose reducing the size of Social Security benefits.The Social Security Administration is still without a permanent leader. President Joe Biden in July nominated former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley to lead the agency.The COLA is calculated according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, or CPI. But there are calls for the agency to instead use a different index, the CPI-E, which measures price changes based on the spending patterns of the elderly, like health care, food and medicine costs.Any change to the calculation would require congressional approval. But with decades of inaction on Social Security and with the House at a standstill after the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., seniors and their advocates say they don’t have confidence any sort of change will be approved soon. The cost of living adjustments will have a big impact on people like Alfred Mason, an 83-year-old Louisiana resident. Mason said that “any increase is welcomed, because it sustains us for what we are going through.”As inflation is still high, he said, anything added to his income “would be greatly appreciated.”。

根据菲律宾外交部17日发布的声明称，菲律宾外交部长马纳罗（Enrique A. Manalo）与日本驻菲律宾大使远藤和也（Endo Kazuya）签署了文件，将通过政府开发援助（ODA）的日元借款采购5艘全长97米的“多用途快速反应艇”（MRRV），以及支付“开发所需的辅助设施”的费用。

B |

MRRV艇长度44米，展舷7.5米，吃水4米。由两台MTU 12V 4000 M93L柴油机驱动，巡航速度15节，定员25人。

C |

声明宣称，这将“帮助菲律宾海岸警卫队（PCG）提高其海上行动能力，特别是因应跨国犯罪的能力”。

据日本共同社报道，远藤在签字仪式结束后向媒体表示，“对于高度依赖贸易的日本而言，确保包括南海在内的海上通道的安全是极其重要的”，“期待通过提供（巡逻船），加强菲律宾的海上执法能力，确立和促进法治”。

报道称，追加的5艘船预计在2027年至2028年交付。

日本是菲律宾最大的海外发展援助供应国，长期以来一直支持菲律宾在基础设施、卫生、人力资源、农业、教育、人道主义援助和救灾等领域的优先发展事项。

日本政府开发援助（ODA）的贷款金额为643亿日元（折合人民币约为29.8亿元），还款期限为40年。合同禁止巡逻船转用于军事以及目的之外的使用。

截至目前，日本已通过日元贷款向菲律宾提供10艘全长44米的巡逻船。2022年，日本首次交付了2艘MRRV型巡逻船，并进行了队员训练。

据报道，菲律宾海岸警卫队指挥官加万15日在接受采访时表示，MRRV型巡逻船未来将成为主力船。

D |

菲律宾海岸警卫队发言人塔里埃拉9日声称，97米的大型巡逻船可以长时间执行海上任务，“得益于高超的造船技术，即便遭遇中国海警局船只的‘水炮拦截’，也能耐受住高水压。”

值得一提的是，日本与菲律宾还在推动防务合作协议签署。本月早些时候，日本防卫大臣木原稔（Minoru Kihara）与菲律宾国防部长特奥多罗（Gilberto Teodoro）同意推动尽早签署《互惠准入协定》（RAA），以加强安全合作，为联合演习创造边便利条件。RAA协定的制定旨在部署国防人员进行训练和救灾行动，同时放宽对武器和物资运输的限制。

此前（4月11日），美国、日本与菲律宾还举行了三国领导人峰会，议题聚焦印太地区局势以及南海问题等。

E | 当时，美国总统拜登在会上宣称，在南海对菲律宾的舰艇、飞机以及武装部队的任何攻击，都将触发美菲之间签订的共同防御条约。

近期，菲律宾小动作频频。该国一“民间组织”大肆操弄冲闯中国黄岩岛，声称要向渔民分发燃料和食物，“维护菲律宾在南海的权利”。不过，该组织最终放弃继续接近黄岩岛的计划。

我外交部发言人汪文斌15日在例行记者会上强调，黄岩岛是中国固有领土，中国对黄岩岛及其附近海域拥有无可争辩的主权，中方2016年就菲律宾少量小型渔船在黄岩岛附近海域正常捕鱼活动做出善意的安排，同时依法对菲渔民相关活动进行管理和监督。

汪文斌指出，如果菲方滥用中方的善意，侵犯中国领土主权和管辖权，中方将依法维权反制，相关责任和后果完全由菲方承担。