Philippines rethinks defence deal with US

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has suspended his decision to terminate a key defence pact with the US.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Philippines President, Rodrigo Duterte, has suspended his decision to terminate a key defence pact with the US, at least temporarily avoiding a major blow to one of America’s oldest alliances in Asia.

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin said he dispatched a diplomatic note to the US ambassador in Manila informing the US government that The Philippines was delaying its decision to abrogate the agreement by at least six months. Washington immediately welcomed the move.

“Our longstanding alliance has benefited both countries,” the US government said. “We look forward to continued close security and defence co-operation with The Philippines.”

Mr Duterte’s administration notified the US government in February that it intended to abrogate the 1998 agreement, which ­allows the entry of many American forces for joint combat training with Filipino troops and lays down the legal terms for their temporary stay. The termination would have taken effect in August.

Philippine ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said he and his American counterpart, Sung Kim, helped discuss what could be done after the coronavirus pandemic hit and hampered possible talks ahead of the agreement’s actual abrogation in August.

He said Donald Trump’s expression of readiness to help The Philippines deal with the pandemic fostered the decision.

Former Philippine foreign secretary Albert del Rosario said the alliance has deterred aggressive Chinese actions in the disputed South China Sea, including possible construction of structures in Scarborough Shoal, a disputed fishing area off the northwestern Philippines that China effectively seized in 2012. Manila has protested other assertive actions by ­Beijing in recent months in ­waters where Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei are also locked in tense territorial disputes with China.

AP