Duterte affirms alliance with US despite tough talk

TOKYO: The leaders of Japan and the Philippines agreed to cooperate in promoting regional peace and stability and acknowledged the importance of their alliances with the US, after the tough-talking Rodrigo Duterte said he wants his country to be free of foreign troops and criticised American foreign policy.

In a news conference, Duterte, after his first round of talks with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday, said he expected Japan to continue being an important part of maritime security in the region, including the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have overlapping claims.

In a statement, the two sides acknowledged the importance of “their network of friendship and alliances”, particularly one between them. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda told reporters that their alliances with the US were recognised, though not in writing.

Duterete, in his second round of talks only among close aides, reassured Abe that he has no intention to sever diplomatic ties with the US, Hagiuda said.

Since Duterte took office in June, Manila’s relationship with Washington has quickly become strained.

Japan is a staunch US ally and hosts 50,000 American troops, while Duterte has repeatedly spoken of distancing his country from Washington, often in crude terms.

The presence of US troops in five Philippine military camps was established under a security deal signed under Duterte’s predecessor as a counter to China’s growing military assertiveness in the region. Earlier Wednesday, Duterte said that he wants his country to be free of foreign troops, possibly within two years. “I want them out,” he said.

“I want to be friends to China,” he told an audience of businesspeople in Tokyo.

“I do not need the arms. I do not want missiles established in my country. I do not need to have the airports to host the bombers.”