Duterte ending war games with US, will not implement defense deal with Americans
President Rodrigo Duterte said he will end joint war games between the Philippines and the United States and stop implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the Americans.
In a speech before the Filipino community in Vietnam on Wednesday night, Duterte said he did not want Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to be embarrassed, thus he would allow the coming joint exercises to continue.
"I would serve notice to you now that this will be the last military exercise. Jointly, Philippines-US, the last one," Duterte said.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the US Marines are set to conduct their 33rd Philippines Amphibious Landing Exercise on October 4 to 12 in Luzon and Palawan.
When Duterte hosted dinner with leaders of the National Democratic Front on Monday in Malacanang, Alan Jazmines, NDF consultant, said Duterte told them his administration would stop the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the US.
"When we met President Duterte three days ago, he was talking about his position to end EDCA and the next step to end the US domination of the country. He was talking about military form of domination," Jazmines said in a forum with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines in Manila.
He said Duterte's pronouncements against the US were indications that the "Philippines will cease" from being a "puppet of the US."
The United States has not received an official notice from the Philippine government on terminating joint military exercises between Filipino and American troops operating under the Visiting Forces Agreement, the US Embassy said Thursday.
“We have not received any official communication from the Philippine government,” said embassy spokesperson Molly Koscina.
In a press conference with Filipino reporters in Hanoi Thursday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said: “When the President says that there will no longer be any joint exercises, it does not mean any cancellation of any agreement or any cancellation of any treaty with the United States.”
Yasay said the Mutual Defense Board will determine “whether or not we should be conducting these joint exercises to always keep up ready in defending our territory in the context of the MDT.”
Yasay said Mutual Defense Board had recommended to former President Benigno Aquino III “to undertake joint military exercises for 2017 and in my understanding that will take place because that has already been decided upon.”
The EDCA’s primary provision is to allow the US military on the agreed location to pre-position personnel and materiel and secondly to construct infrastructure, said foreign affairs spokesman Charles Jose.
Luis Jalandoni, NDF chief negotiator, said the leftist group welcomes Duterte's statements, adding in their coming talks in Norway with their Philippine counterpart, part of the discussion would be their opposition on the Philippine-US Visiting Forces Agreement and the Mutual Defense Treaty, which they describe as "unequal treaties" with US.
Duterte reiterated Filipino troops would not join a joint patrol with the Americans in the disputed South China Sea.
"There will never be an occasion that I will send the gray ships there. Not because I am afraid," Duterte said, referring to Philippine Navy ships.
Duterte,in his recent speeches, issued strong statements against the US, while he wants to open up trade and commercial alliances with China and Russia.
In Hanoi, he described the conflict with China as "more of an imaginary thing."
The Philippines and China have been embroiled in a territorial dispute over the South China Sea.
The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration has ruled in favor of the Philippines on its petition against China's nine-dash line in the disputed waters. Beijing refused to honor the award.
Duterte explained that the conflict with China was more of an imaginary thing because, "we cannot go to war just because there is that award."
"Anyway, I have this ruling of the international arbitration court which says that the South China, the entitlements there are ours," he said.
He said even with the help of America, the Philippines could not win against China if it goes to war. "It is not the time to die. I am not ready to commit the soldiers of this country just to be massacred," he said that if war breaks out in the disputed sea, the battleground would be Palawan.
"So we talk...there will always be a time to reckon the thing with. When the time comes, I will tell China, 'this is ours.' I will talk to you but will not go out of the four corners of this paper," he explained.
Duterte also claimed there was a plan of the US Central Intelligence Agency to kill him.
"They said there was a plan of the CIA to have me killed," he said, without elaborating. Celerina Monte, Robina Asido
