President Duterte says Philippines can survive without America
MANILA — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said Filipino forces can fight insurgents and Muslim extremists without American military help, in a defense of his recent decision to terminate a U.S. security pact.
Duterte also said in a speech that he would stick to a decision made early in his presidency, when he was enraged by thenPresident Barack Obama’s criticism of his deadly anti-drug crackdown, that he will not travel to the United States.
The brash Philippine leader has often criticized U.S. security policies while praising China and Russia since taking office in mid-2016 for a six-year term.
President Trump invited Duterte to join a meeting he will host for leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Las Vegas next month. Duterte has better relations with Trump than with Obama, but his remarks Wednesday support an earlier statement that he would not attend the meeting.
“Do we need America to survive as a nation?“ Duterte asked. “Do we need … the might and power of the military of the United States to fight our rebellion here and the terrorists down south and control drugs?”
“The military and police said, ‘Sir, we can do it,’” he said.
“If we can’t do it, we have no business being a republic,” Duterte said. “You might as well choose. We can be a territory of the Americans or we can be a province of China.”
The Philippine government notified the U.S. two weeks ago that it intends to end the Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows American forces to train in large numbers in the Philippines, in the most serious threat under Duterte to the two nations’ 69-year treaty alliance.
Jim Gomez is an Associated Press writer.