US ready to pull troops from Philippines ‘in months’ if no new VFA: expert
Special forces involved in fighting Islamist terrorists in Mindanao could be pulled out by June if no new Visiting Forces Agreement is signed, US forum told
Warning over pact, in question since Rodrigo Duterte’s former police chief was denied a US visa, comes as alliance in South China Sea is called a ‘paper tiger’
Raissa Robles
Published: 10:30pm, 17 May, 2021
Updated: 11:07pm, 17 May, 2021
US Marines take part in an amphibious landing exercise during US-Philippines war games. Photo: Reuters US Marines take part in an amphibious landing exercise during US-Philippines war games. Photo: Reuters
US Marines take part in an amphibious landing exercise during US-Philippines war games. Photo: Reuters
Some 400 American soldiers and defence contractors deployed in the southern Philippines
could be pulled out within months if Washington and Manila do not sign a new Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) by then.
So heard an international conference titled “The Philippines Hedging Between Alliance or Appeasement: Can the Biden Administration Tip the Balance?”
The US was “ready to withdraw” the contingent of soldiers from the Mindanao island group, where they are involved in operations against Islamist extremists and communist rebels, Renato De Castro, an international relations professor at De la Salle University in Manila,
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3133802/us-ready-pull-troops-philippines-months-if-no-new-vfa-expert
