Duterte wants US troops out in 2 years

TOKYO – President Duterte wants US troops out of the Philippines in the next two years and all military agreements with Washington scrapped if necessary.

The comments – raised at the Philippine Economic Forum here yesterday – followed a series of anti-American tirades by the firebrand leader, who has repeatedly attacked the US while cozying up to Beijing, upending his nation’s foreign policy in comments that have sometimes been quickly retracted.

“I want, maybe in the next two years, my country free of the presence of foreign military troops,” Duterte said, in a clear reference to US forces.

“I want them out and if I have to revise or abrogate agreements, executive agreements, I will,” he added.

The US, which once operated sprawling bases in the country, now has a small number of Special Forces on the southern island of Mindanao to aid in counterterrorism operations.

Duterte has previously said he wants US troops out of Mindanao because their presence stokes tensions on the island where Islamic militants have waged a decades-long separatist insurgency.

The acid-tongued leader arrived in Tokyo Tuesday on his first visit to Japan since taking office June 30, looking to persuade executives his country is “open for business,” after overturning Manila’s traditional diplomatic alliances.

The 71-year-old leader has also slammed Washington for questioning his violent crime crackdown, which has claimed some 3,700 lives and attracted widespread international criticism.

Duterte has also insulted President Barack Obama, calling him a “son of a wh**e” and announcing a “separation” from the US during a visit to Beijing last week.

Although he quickly walked back from his comments, saying that “separation” did not mean he would “sever” ties, he reiterated his calls on Wednesday for an end to all joint military exercises with the US.

“This will be the last maneuver war games between the United States and the Philippines’ military,” he said of an event hosted in recent weeks by the Philippines.

‘We will survive’

In the same forum, Duterte again belittled US aid, saying the Philippines can survive without it.

“So, I may have ruffled the feelings of some but that is how it is. We will survive without the assistance of America,” he said.  “Maybe a lesser quality of life but I said, we will survive and if there is one thing I would like to prove to America and to everybody, there is such a thing as the dignity of the Filipino people.”

Being chastised by the US for allegations of rising extrajudicial killings in the Philippines was an insult, he said.

“I kind of, you know, when you call my attention as a mayor, it’s okay. I do not carry the burden of sovereignty on my shoulders but if you chastise me, reprimand me before the international crowd, and you say, ‘Mr. Duterte, you stop the killings there’,” he said.

He again stressed to his audience he is no US lapdog. “You know, it’s like saying I am a dog on a leash and… if you do not stop biting the criminals, we will not throw the bread under your mouth,” he said.

“We will throw it further so that you’ll have to struggle to get it. That is what America wants me to be. A dog barking for the crumbs of their favor and so I said it’s a great country,” Duterte said.

He said he is ready to be ousted or even killed because of his firm stand against what he believed was US interference in Philippine affairs.

“If I lose my life, that is part of the territory of being President but I would never allow our dignity and honor to be just like a doormat before the international public. I will not allow it,” he added.

He again raised the specter of drug lords and syndicates dominating local politics and further corrupting succeeding generations.

EDCA scrapping

In Manila, Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto said while he is not opposed to the scrapping of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the US, the Philippines should be ready “to finance and fill whatever logistical void is left by American troops.”

“The vacuum will be felt more in disaster relief operations because in many typhoons in the past, Americans have been the first responders, even sending entire carrier battle groups to help in rescue and reconstruction,” Recto said.

“And in this era of climate change, with its powerful typhoons, we need all the help we can get due to our lack of resources to airlift aid to damaged places,” he added. - With Christina Mendez, Paolo Romero