MANILA, Philippines — United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim declined to comment on the statement of President Rodrigo Duterte regarding the assistance America is providing to the Filipino troops in Marawi City.
The envoy said they are just continuing the cooperation that they have with the Philippines for a long time as allies despite Duterte saying that he did not ask for help.
“I think we have already indicated that we have continued to provide counter-terrorism support for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and that effort continues,” Kim said in an ambush interview during the Independence Day rites at Rizal Park in Manila on Monday.
READ: US forces assisting Philippines in battle to end siege
“We have stated clearly already that we will continue our cooperation and support for the AFP, and I don’t think it would be appropriate to go into the technical details of what we’re providing,” he added.
US Amb Sung Kim says inappropriate for him to comment on Du30's claim he is unaware of US assistance in Marawi @PhilippineStar @PhilstarNews pic.twitter.com/yxkU61FpCi
— Alexis B. Romero (@alexisbromero) June 12, 2017
Duterte, who turned sour on the country’s relationship with the US, revealed yesterday that he was not aware of United States’ assistance in the conflict-stricken Marawi City in Lanao del Sur.
When Kim was asked about who requested for assistance, the US ambassador refused to give details.
“Look, I don’t think it’s appropriate to get into details. All I can say is this is a cooperation that has continued for some time now, it’s a cooperation that’s appreciated by the Philippines military and it’s a co-operation that’s continued with the knowledge of the Philippines government and the AFP,” he said.
The AFP confirmed that they are getting technical support from the US. However, it is only limited to surveillance using advanced equipment to strategically locate the ISIS-inspired Maute terror group.
“To tell you frankly, ang operations natin sa Marawi is basically all-Filipino ‘yan,” Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., Western Mindanao Command chief, said earlier.
READ: Wesmincom: No Americans involved in operational matters Primary tabs
“Ang pakinabang sa US [ay] confirmatory [lang], pero lahat ng ginagawa sa taas…basically lahat ng ginagawa doon kami lang talaga, [mga] Filipino. Sa operational matters, walang Amerikanong involved,” he added.
Since taking his post in July, Duterte has been critical of the American government, including its former President Barack Obama, over concerns about his drug war while trying to build a relationship with Russia and China.
Despite this, the US government stressed that they would continue to support the country, particularly the AFP.
“I do think it’s important to note that this cooperation has continued throughout, across different administrations in the Philippines,” Kim said.
The city of Marawi has been under siege by the Maute group since May 23, destroying public and private properties and also taking hostages.
The attack prompted Duterte to declare martial law in the whole Mindanao. — with a report from Alexis Romero