MANILA (Reuters) - The United States and the&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;on Friday&nbsp;signed a&nbsp;landmark&nbsp;deal&nbsp;that would allow Washington to export&nbsp;nuclear&nbsp;technology and material to Manila, which is exploring the&nbsp;use of&nbsp;nuclear&nbsp;power to decarbonise and boost energy independence.
"The United States will be able to share equipment and material with the&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;as they work to develop small modular reactors and other civilian&nbsp;nuclear&nbsp;energy infrastructure," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a&nbsp;signing ceremony on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in San Francisco.
Negotiations for the 123 Agreement started in November, 2022.
"We see&nbsp;nuclear&nbsp;energy becoming a part of the&nbsp;Philippines' energy mix by 2032 and we are more than happy to pursue this path with the United States," President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said in a speech. "Nuclear&nbsp;energy is one area where we can show the&nbsp;Philippines-U.S. alliance and partnership truly works."
U.S. Congress approval is needed for the&nbsp;deal, which will allow a peaceful transfer of&nbsp;nuclear&nbsp;material, equipment and information in adherence with non-proliferation requirements.
As of end-2022, the United States had 23 agreements covering 47 countries, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and democratically governed Taiwan.
The&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;wants to tap&nbsp;nuclear&nbsp;power as a viable alternative baseload power source as it seeks to retire coal plants to help meet climate goals and boost energy security. The Southeast Asian nation is vulnerable to volatile global oil prices, seasonal power outages, and high electricity rates.
Previous&nbsp;attempts to pursue&nbsp;nuclear&nbsp;energy in the&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;were halted over safety concerns, but Marcos has discussed the possibility of reviving a mothballed&nbsp;nuclear&nbsp;power plant, built in response to an energy crisis during the rule of the late&nbsp;Philippines&nbsp;strongman and his namesake father.
Completed in 1984, the Bataan&nbsp;Nuclear&nbsp;Power Plant was mothballed two years later following the ouster of the older Marcos, the deadly Chernobyl&nbsp;nuclear&nbsp;disaster, and corruption allegations.
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(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)

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US, Philippines sign landmark nuclear deal