After weeks of threats uttered by senior Philippine officials from President Rodrigo Duterte on down, Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. announced that Manila was withdrawing from the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), despite tensions in the disputed South China Sea and a security threat from Islamic State-linked extremists in the southern Philippines. The U.S. embassy’s deputy chief of mission had received the signed document notifying Washington about the decision, Locsin said via Twitter.
onsdag 12. februar 2020
Philippines Informs US of Withdrawal from Military Pact
The Philippines officially notified the United States on Tuesday that it was terminating a decades-old military pact, leading the American embassy to say Manila’s move would have “significant implications” for the longtime alliance.
After weeks of threats uttered by senior Philippine officials from President Rodrigo Duterte on down, Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. announced that Manila was withdrawing from the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), despite tensions in the disputed South China Sea and a security threat from Islamic State-linked extremists in the southern Philippines. The U.S. embassy’s deputy chief of mission had received the signed document notifying Washington about the decision, Locsin said via Twitter.
After weeks of threats uttered by senior Philippine officials from President Rodrigo Duterte on down, Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. announced that Manila was withdrawing from the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), despite tensions in the disputed South China Sea and a security threat from Islamic State-linked extremists in the southern Philippines. The U.S. embassy’s deputy chief of mission had received the signed document notifying Washington about the decision, Locsin said via Twitter.
