MANILA, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo
Duterte has told his foreign minister to give formal notice to
the United States of his termination of a Visiting Forces
Agreement (VFA) between their militaries, his spokesman said on
Tuesday.
Duterte, who has openly disapproved of the two countries'
military alliance, made the decision after a close ally said his
visa for the United States had been rescinded, in an issue
related to the president's war on drugs.
"It's about time we rely on ourselves, we will strengthen
our own defences and not rely on any other country," Duterte's
spokesman Salvador Panelo told a regular briefing, quoting the
president.
The Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), signed in 1998,
accorded legal status to thousands of U.S. troops who were
rotated in the country for military exercises and humanitarian
assistance.
The two countries also have a Mutual defence Treaty and an
Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which remain in
place.