The firebrand leader launched more verbal salvos on Monday about what he called atrocities under American colonial rule of the archipelago nation, saying USA special forces working in the restive south under a defense treaty should leave because they were complicating counter-insurgency operations.
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Duterte noted that the presence of US forces in the country could interfere with their own plans against the terrorist group.
China and the Philippines have been involved in an increasingly ugly territorial dispute in the South China Sea.
So far there are no signs that Duterte is interested in scuttling the broader U.S. -Philippines defense agreement.
Days after stating that his administration would adopt an autonomous foreign policy, the Philippines president has declared that he no longer wants the country to participate in joint sea patrols with other countries.
Duterte and Obama were scheduled to meet earlier this month, but after Duterte called him a “son of a whore” in a press conference, the meeting was cancelled.
In 2002, the Philippines and the United States formed a Joint Special Operations Task Forces, to train Filipino troops in fighting terrorists in Mindanao.
However, she also said that “the new administration, we are now beginning to have meetings and discuss our shared priorities and programs”. “But certainly we will follow an independent posture, an independent foreign policy”.
The force has been drawn down, but many people in the Philippines would prefer the U.S. to stay out of the country altogether, analyst Dr Joseph Chang told Radio Sputnik.
The program has officially ended in early 2015 but despite the termination of the United States mission, some USA troops stayed in the country to assist in the counter-terrorism programs in the South.
Duterte said that two countries – which he did not identify – had agreed to give the Philippines a 25-year soft loan to buy military equipment, Bloomberg reports.
The ties with Philippines are at a turning point, China said, adding that it expects Manila to handle the conflicts appropriately.
About 75 percent of the Philippines’ arms imports since the 1950s came from the USA, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
During the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and Related Summits in Vientiane last week, Duterte’s spokesmen said the President failed to attend the ASEAN-U.S. meeting because he was not feeling well due to migraine attack.
On Tuesday, Duterte said the Philippines needs propeller-driven planes that it can use against insurgents and fight terrorists in Mindanao.
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Another US official reiterated that there were only a handful of special forces in Mindanao limited to liaison roles. “We have not been officially contacted by Philippine authorities regarding these statements”, she told the Manila Bulletin.
