Mr. Duterte and Mr. Obama are far from friends or close allies.
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Decades of sectarian violence that has left more than 120,000 dead, he said, has become “more volatile” with the presence of the U.S.in the region.
ZAMBOANGA MISSION About 50 USA soldiers on formation witness the ceremonial folding of the flag of the Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines at the Western Mindanao Command grandstand in Zamboanga City in this photo taken in February 2015.
Duterte said Monday that Americans would constantly be in danger in the southern Mindanao region, where Islamic extremists would constantly try to kill or kidnap them for ransom.
In the meantime, the military takes the President’s statement to mean that he was just concerned about the safety of U.S. soldiers in Mindanao and that they “should be eased from harm’s way”, Colonel Edgard Arevalo, chief of the military’s public affairs office, said in a statement. Nandiyan ‘yan eh. Who am I to abrogate a treaty? “I do not want a rift with America, but they have to go”.
But top officials from the Philippines moved yesterday to stem the damage, saying that it was business as usual with the US.
The AFP also said activities with US troops lined up for the year will continue, with consultative planning activities for 2017 and beyond likewise remaining on track.
In a speech in Malacañang on Monday, Duterte also blamed the USA for inflaming Muslim insurgencies in the region.
Still, executive agreements with previous presidents allow visiting United States forces, to conduct joint military exercises with the Filipino troops.
Further evidence of Duterte’s approach came in an address to civil servants Monday as the president called for USA military advisers to be withdrawn from Southern Mindanao where Philippine troops have been battling Muslim insurgents.
Some U.S. special forces have been killed in the southern Philippines since 2002, when Washington deployed soldiers to train and advise local units fighting Abu Sayyaf in Operation Enduring Freedom, part of its global anti-terror strategy.
A Philippines special envoy, former president Fidel Ramos, said during a visit to Hong Kong last month that Manila wanted formal negotiations with China to explore pathways to peace and cooperation.
Since 2002, up to 600 United States advisers have been deployed in the Mindanao region to train troops battling Muslim extremists, but their numbers have been reduced.
The Philippines has traditionally leaned on the U.S., its longtime treaty ally, for its security needs.
Washington has traditionally enjoyed friendly relations with Manila, and the Philippines still relies on military agreements with the US for much of its security.
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The statement came a week after Duterte’s spat with US President Barack Obama, which led to the cancellation of their scheduled bilateral meeting at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Laos.
