Leader renounces joint patrols, eyes China arms
— Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday he won’t allow government forces to conduct joint patrols of disputed waters near the South China Sea with foreign powers, apparently scrapping a deal his predecessor reached with the U.S. military this year.
Duterte also said he was considering acquiring defense equipment from Russia and China. The Philippines has traditionally leaned on the U.S., its longtime treaty ally, and other Western allies for its security needs.
The remarks were the latest from a Philippine president who has had an uneasy relationship with the U.S. but also has tried to mend relations with China strained over South China Sea disputes.
Duterte said he wanted only Philippine territorial waters, up to 12 nautical miles offshore, to be patrolled by Filipino forces, but not other offshore areas that are contested. He added that he opposes Filipino forces accompament nying foreign powers like the U.S. and China in joint patrols, which could entangle the Philippines in hostilities.
“We do not go into a patrol or join any other army from now because I do not want trouble,” Duterte said. “I do not want to ride gung-ho style there with China or with America. I just want to patrol our territorial waters.”
Like other security pronouncements, Duterte did not provide details, but his rejection of joint patrols apparently goes against such an arrangeMANILA announced in April by the U.S. and the Philippine defense chiefs.
On Monday, Duterte said he wanted U.S. military forces out of the southern Philippines and blamed America for inflaming local Muslim insurgencies, in his first public statement opposing the presence of American troops in a part of the country.
In an apparent attempt to prevent potential damage in relations, Philippine officials said Duterte wanted the Americans out of the south over fear for their safety.