US forces advising the Philippine military against an Islamic insurgency are doing more harm than good and must leave, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday.
Advertisement
“U.S. special forces have been providing support and assistance in the southern Philippines for many years, at the request of several different Filipino administrations”, said Ross.
Mr Duterte, who took office in June, has signalled a greater willingness to engage with China than his predecessor, Benigno Aquino, who initiated an worldwide tribunal case against Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea in 2013.
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. They have to go.
He attacked the USA over atrocities under American colonial rule and said troops stationed in the south of the country have impeded counter-insurgency efforts against the Islamic-State linked group Aby Sayyaf.
“For as long as we stay with America, we will never have peace in that land”, he said.
The US nominally ended the military operation in the southern Philippines in 2015, but still keeps some troops there.
He said these included a 10-year defence pact, signed in 2014, that allows the United States to rotate troops through at least five military bases in the Philippines. “If Americans are seen there, they will really be killed”, he warned.
The US hadn’t apologised for alleged atrocities committed by Americans on Filipinos in the 1900s, Mr Duterte said, also criticising the US over its role in conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Vietnam. Who am I to abrogate a treaty?
It was Duterte’s latest hint at taking decisive measures before later ruling them out, adding to concerns in Washington about his volatility. They have to go.
The US embassy could not be reached for comment.
“We are aware of President Duterte’s statements and refer you to his office on any questions”, said Commander Gary Ross, a Pentagon spokesman.
The US has also been a strong supporter of the Philippines as it pushes back against China’s assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said Duterte’s comments reflected the government’s “new direction toward coursing an independent foreign policy”.
Duterte, who was in the spotlight last week over his televised tirade against USA imperialism and President Barack Obama, said that the US special forces now training Filipino troops were high-value targets for the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf as counter-insurgency operations intensify.
Advertisement
Duterte won presidential elections by a landslide this year after promising that tens of thousands of people would be killed in an unprecedented law-and-order crackdown.
