In a speech in Malacañang on Monday, Duterte also blamed the United States for inflaming Muslim insurgencies in the region.
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According to the Straits Times, a special forces unit known as the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) operated in Mindanao from 2002 to previous year although there were no USA bases there.
When Duterte took over as president in June, he had grown critical of the USA security policy in the Philippines.
Duterte said he wanted only Philippine territorial waters, up to 12 nautical miles offshore, to be patrolled by Filipino forces, but not other offshore areas that are contested.
“If they see an American, they would kill him”.
The situation in Mindanao will be more volatile, Duterte said, adding that “if United States troops are seen there, they will really be killed”. “But certainly, we will follow an independent posture and independent foreign policy”, Duterte said.
The US deployed special forces soldiers to Mindanao in 2002 to train and advise Philippine units fighting Abu Sayyaf militants in a program that once involved 1200 US personnel.
The Takfiri group, now a Daesh affiliate, lost major commanders at the beginning of its fight and was gradually split into factions with a few hundred militants.
The Philippines has had close ties with the USA for decades, most recently bolstering military cooperation through a 2014 pact.
Duterte explained he wanted the US out of the southern Mindanao region, home to numerous country’s Muslim minority, for an incident stemming back more than a 100 years.
Duterte said he had planned to raise the issue last week when he and Obama attended the ASEAN Summit in Laos but did not do so “out of respect”. “They would demand ransom then kill him”.
“He (Duterte) has made reference to the unrecognized, unrepented and unatoned for massacre at Bud Dajo in Sulu by the Americans, hence our continued connection with West is the real reason for the “Islamic” threat in Mindanao”, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said of those remarks.
State Department spokesman John Kirby said Monday that the US was aware of Duterte’s comments, but is “not aware of any official communication by the Philippine government to that effect and to seek that result”. “But they (U.S. military) have to go”.
When asked if he were trying to draw a cautionary tale for the American people, Earnest said, “I guess some people could draw that analogy”.
Mr Duterte sparked a storm ahead of last week’s Asean summits in Vientiane by labelling Obama a “son of a bitch”, and prompting the United States leader to cancel planned talks between the two allies.
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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. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte that he hoped the two nations could bring bilateral ties back to a normal track.
