Philippines tells U.S. it will end military cooperation deal

MANILA, PHILIPPINES >> The Philippines said Tuesday it had officially informed the United States that it was scrapping a military pact that has given the longtime American ally a security blanket for the past two decades.

The notice to terminate the pact, the Visiting Forces Agreement, comes as President Rodrigo Duterte has warmed up to China while distancing himself from the United States, the Philippines’ former colonial ruler. The move also comes as the Philippines has shown increasing reluctance to stand up to China over its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The agreement has let the United States rotate its forces through Philippine military bases. It has allowed for about 300 joint exercises annually between the American and Philippine militaries, said R. Clarke Cooper, the assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs. He told reporters Monday the termination of the agreement would put those operations “at risk.”

The pact still remains in force, but the notice to terminate it, delivered to the American Embassy in Manila, starts a clock under which it will remain in effect for 180 days before lapsing.

“The deputy chief of mission of the United States has received the notice of termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement,” Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin said on Twitter in announcing the move.

Duterte, who is known for his volatility, has a history of making threats that he has not followed through on. But this time he seems intent on bucking the United States, as well as Philippine lawmakers who oppose ending the pact and could try to thwart him.

The decision by the Philippine government comes as Duterte has grown increasingly belligerent toward the United States, principally over Washington’s refusal to grant a visa to Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, the early architect of Duterte’s violent war against drugs.

Duterte’s threats to end the pact have alarmed some in his own administration, who see the American military alliance as a bedrock of Philippine security and a counterweight to China’s growing naval might in the South China Sea.

Appearing before the Philippine Senate last week, Locsin cautioned against ending the pact.

MALACANANG PRESIDENTIAL PHOTOGRAPHERS DIVISION VIA AP The Philippines on Tuesday notified the United States of its intent to terminate a major security pact allowing American forces to train in the country, in the most serious threat to the countries’ treaty alliance under President Rodrigo Duterte, above.