Manila terminates troop pact with US

MANILA/WASHINGTON－Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday announced the termination of a two-decade-old Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States, or VFA.

Duterte, who has clashed with the US over several issues, decided to pull the plug on the troop rotation pact with the former colonial ruler to enable the Philippines to be more independent in its relations with other countries, his spokesman Salvador Panelo said.

"The president will not entertain any initiative coming from the US government to salvage the VFA, neither will he accept any official invitation to visit the US," Panelo said.

The decision was sparked by the revocation of a US visa held by a former police chief who led Duterte's war on drugs.

It would also limit Philippine access to US training and expertise in tackling extremism, natural disasters and maritime security threats.

Panelo said Duterte's decision was a consequence of US legislative and executive actions that "bordered on assaulting our sovereignty and disrespecting our judicial system".

"The effectivity of (the notice of termination) will be 180 days from the receipt of the US government of such notice," Panelo said.

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper called the decision "unfortunate" and said it would be a move in the wrong direction.

The US embassy in Manila acknowledged receipt of Manila's notice and said Washington "will carefully consider how best to move forward to advance our shared interests".

Given the importance of the alliance with the Philippines in broader US strategy, Washington hopes the decision will be reversed or delayed before it takes legal effect.

Esper told reporters traveling with him to Brussels for a NATO meeting he only received notification of the move late on Monday. "We have to digest it. We have to work through the policy angles, the military angles. I'm going to hear from my commanders. But... in my view, it's unfortunate that they would make this move," he said.

Clandestine activities

The Philippines and the US signed the VFA in 1998, allowing joint Philippine-US military operations. The Philippine Senate ratified the agreement in 1999, seven years after the closure of the last US base on Philippine territory.

Duterte said the US uses the pacts to conduct clandestine activities like spying and nuclear weapons stockpiling.

Ending the VFA could hurt Washington's future interests in maintaining an Asia-Pacific troop presence amid friction over the presence of US personnel in Japan and South Korea.

Some lawmakers are concerned that without the VFA, two other pacts would be irrelevant, namely the 2014 Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement made under the Barack Obama administration, and a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.

Those cover dozens of annual military training exercises and broaden the access of US forces and equipment to the Philippines, as well as bind the two countries to defend each other from external aggression.

Supporters of the agreements said the $1.3 billion of US defense assistance since 1998 has been vital in boosting the capabilities of Philippine forces.

Opponents, however, argued that the US did nothing to stop escalation in the South China Sea and said the VFA is lopsidedly favorable to US citizens, including the granting of immunity from prosecution for US servicemen.

Duterte has earlier said that he wants all security agreements between the US and the Philippines reviewed or scrapped.

"America is very rude. They are so rude," Duterte said.

Agencies - Xinhua