Philippines Backs Off Threat to Terminate Military Pact With U.S.
In February President Rodrigo Duterte had angrily sought to end the Visiting Forces Agreement, seen as a buffer against Chinese power. Analysts saw the reversal as a sign of new wariness toward China.
By Jason Gutierrez
June 2, 2020
MANILA — In a strategic setback for China, the Philippines government reversed itself Tuesday and said it would maintain a longstanding military pact with the United States that President Rodrigo Duterte has criticized as unfair.
The Philippine foreign secretary, Teodoro Locsin, made Tuesday’s announcement over Twitter, saying that he had informed Washington in a diplomatic note. The decision not to terminate the agreement was made “in light of political and other developments in the region,†Mr. Locsin said in the diplomatic note, without elaboration.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/world/asia/philippines-military-pact-us-duterte.html
