 |
| Philippine and US personnel during a joint exercise last year © EPA |
Duterte vows to end joint US-Philippine military exercises
President nixes drills as he seeks to forge closer ties with China
[Excerpts]
His remarks underscore how a sharp shift in foreign policy rhetoric since he took office in Manila three months ago has the potential to change the dynamics of the battle in Southeast Asia over Beijing’s claim to much of the region’s seas. The outspoken new president has sent diplomats and analysts scrambling to work out how many of his pledges will be carried out....
Mr Duterte announced the cancellation of the joint manoeuvres at an event late on Wednesday with the Filipino community in Hanoi, where he is on an official visit. He said next week’s planned operation would go ahead because he did not want to embarrass his defence minister, but that future “war games” would be cancelled because China “does not want” them.
He added that Manila would maintain the longstanding military alliance with the US enshrined in a 1951 treaty but would also “establish new alliances for trade and commerce”. He has previously said the Philippines will consider buying military equipment from China and Russia.
No comments:
Post a Comment