Philippine military backs defence divorce from U.S.

By Karen Lema and Martin Petty
MANILA, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The Philippine military on
Wednesday stood by the president's decision to scrap a security
agreement with the United States, saying the country could now
develop its own defence capabilities and alliances, and would do
fine without it.
The military chief backed President Rodrigo Duterte's
termination of the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and said
doing so would allow the Philippines to expand its modernisation
programme and its engagement with Australia and Japan - both
U.S. allies.
Armed forces commander, General Felimon Santos, said planes
and ships were being procured from countries other than the
United States, such as South Korea, while Filipinos were now
"doing the leg work" on intelligence gathering on Islamist
extremists.
"You know these sentiments of soldiers, we are all high
morale," he told reporters. "It will make us more eager to build
up our own capabilities."
Despite his defence and foreign ministers last week speaking
favourably of the VFA, Duterte's decision was not a complete
surprise given his disdain for the Philippines' close ties with
Washington and what he sees as subservience to an abusive and
hypocritical former colonial ruler.
He has been determined to build a strong relationship with
China, despite a history of diplomatic friction, and some unease
among a U.S.-leaning defence apparatus wary about Beijing's
militarisation and island-building in the South China Sea.
Duterte's spokesman Salvador Panelo said U.S. disagreement
with the firebrand president's move was motivated by its own
strategic interests, and that it was time for the Philippines to
be militarily independent.
"Reliance on another country for our own defences against
the enemies of the state will ultimately weaken and stagnate our
defence mechanisms," Panelo said in a statement. "We must stand
on our own and put a stop to being a parasite to another country
in protecting our independence and sovereignty."
But the move defies domestic opinion, with polls
consistently showing Filipinos' mistrust of China and strong
approval of the United States, where millions of their relatives
live, including those of some of Duterte's cabinet ministers.
The VFA is the legal framework for the thousands of rotating
U.S. troops involved in as many as 300 joint exercises a year in
the Philippines. Some lawmakers hope it can be saved in the 180
days before the termination takes effect, and worry that without
it, two other U.S. military agreements will be irrelevant.
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Tuesday said the
decision was a move in the wrong direction at a time when
Washington and its Asian allies were trying to press China to
abide by "international rules of order".
Duterte's spokesman Panelo rejected that, calling it "a move
in the right direction that should have been done a long time
ago".
Duterte's opponents are dismayed and see the move as his
personal favour to China, among them former foreign secretary
Albert del Rosario, who called his decision "incomprehensible
and harmful".
"What is unfolding before us must be considered a national
tragedy which should be resisted," he said.

(Editing by Alex Richardson)