In opposing the USA military presence in the southern Mindanao region, Duterte cited the killing of Muslims during a US pacification campaign in the early 1900s, which he said was at the root of the long restiveness of minority Muslims in the largely Catholic nation’s south.
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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte signaled an abrupt departure from his nation’s longstanding military reliance on the USA, ordering his defense secretary to seek gear from suppliers in China and Russian Federation to fight drug traffickers and insurgents.
China’s latest bid to improve relations with the Philippines comes amid uncertainty, and acrimony, over the normally tight relations between the Philippines and its main ally, the United States, as Mr Duterte shows little sign of dialling down rhetoric fiercely critical of Washington.
“The special forces, they have to go”.
It was Duterte’s latest hint at taking decisive measures before later ruling them out, adding to concerns in Washington about his volatility.
He also said they may be subject to reprisals by the Moros considering the history of American atrocities on the island during the US occupation.
“There is no shift in so far as our policy is concerned with respect to our close friendship with the Americans”.
Washington, however, said it had not received a formal request to remove USA military personnel.
In 2002, the USA military deployed troops to train, advise and provide intelligence and weapons to Filipino troops battling al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippines. The country hosted USA military bases until 1991, and has accepted troops from the US military to aid in battling Abu Sayyaf insurgents since 2002.
But that would entail the exit of a “token” number of Americans, and broader defense programs with the United States would remain intact, the Philippine military said in a statement.
“I told them I want weaponries and armaments, I don’t need jets, the F-16s, that’s of no use to us”.
The Pentagon in June also deployed warplanes and about 120 personnel in the northern Philippines for short-term training missions aimed at ensuring the allies’ access to the disputed South China Sea.
In a brief encounter in Laos, Obama urged the Filipino leader to conduct his crime war “the right way” and protect human rights, but Duterte dismissed it as being none of America’s business.
Don’t be surprised if Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte winds up being overthrown or murdered by his own military or national police, acting on behalf of the United States.
“If they see an American, they would kill him”. Some of the photos, Duterte said, show American soldiers around a mass grave.
The president only wanted to protect Americans from kidnappings and terrorism as they had become “a very good target”, Yasay said.
Richard Javad Heydarian, a Manila-based political science professor and Al Jazeera columnist, says Duterte’s pursuit of a “less subservient foreign policy is a noble goal and a strategic imperative”.
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The move to end joint patrols in the South China Sea signals Duterte’s intention to improve ties with China, according to Shen Shishun, a senior researcher at the China Institute of International Studies under China’s Foreign Ministry. “Who am I to abrogate a treaty?” he said. He added that Washington remains committed to the alliance.
