Philippines notifies U.S. of intent to end major security pact
The Philippines notified the United States on Tuesday it intended to end a major security pact allowing American forces to train in the country in the most serious threat to their treaty alliance under President Rodrigo Duterte.
In a Senate hearing last week, Locsin warned that abrogating the security accord with Washington would undermine Philippine security and foster aggression in the disputed South China Sea. U.S. military presence in the strategic waterway has been seen as a crucial counterweight to China, which claims virtually the entire sea.Locsin proposed a review of the agreement to fix contentious issues instead of abrogating it.
Thousands of mostly poor suspects have been killed under the anti-drug campaign Duterte launched when he took office in mid-2016, alarming the U.S. and other Western governments and human rights watchdogs.Duterte gave the U.S. a month to restore Dela Rosa’s visa, but U.S. officials have not publicly reacted to the Philippine leader’s demand.
The accord, known by its acronym VFA, took effect in 1999 to legally allow the entry of American forces along with U.S. military ships and aircraft to the Philippines for joint training with Filipino troops. The U.S. provided more than $550 million in security assistance to the Philippines from 2016 to 2019, Locsin said, adding that there may be a “chilling effect on our economic relations” if the Philippines draws down its security alliance with Washington.
Duterte first threatened to abrogate the VFA in late 2016 after a U.S. aid agency put on hold funds for anti-poverty projects in the Philippines. The 74-year-old leader has walked back on such public threats before but his government’s action on Tuesday has been the most serious indication so far of his intent to set back military relations with the U.S.
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