Philippines' Duterte threatens to end military deal with the United States

MANILA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo
Duterte warned the United States on Thursday he would repeal an
agreement on deployment of troops and equipment for exercises if
Washington did not reinstate the visa of a political ally.
Visibly upset, Duterte vented his anger over the U.S.
decision to deny entry to Ronaldo dela Rosa, a former police
chief who is now a senator.
Dela Rosa said the U.S. embassy in the Philippines did not
explain why his visa had been cancelled but that he believed it
was most likely because of allegations of extrajudicial killings
during his more than two-year term as police chief.
Dela Rosa was the chief enforcer of Duterte's anti-narcotics
crackdown, which has resulted in deaths of more than 5,000
people, mostly small-time drug dealers. Police say victims were
shot by officers in self-defense.
"If you do not do the correction, one, I will terminate the
bases, the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). I will finish that
son of a bitch," Duterte said in a wide-ranging speech before
former Communist rebels. "I am giving the government and the
American government one month from now."
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 operations.
Delfin Lorezana, Duterte's defense minister, declined to
comment when asked if he agreed with the president's plan.
Duterte makes no secret of his disdain for the United States
and what he considers its hypocrisy and interference, though he
acknowledges that most Filipinos and his military have high
regard for their country's former colonial ruler.
The United States is the Philippines' biggest defense ally
and millions of Filipinos have relatives who are U.S. citizens.
Last month, Duterte banned U.S. senators Richard Durbin and
Patrick Leahy from visiting the Philippines after they
introduced a provision in the U.S. Congress.
The provision calls the ban on U.S. entry to anyone involved
in locking up Philippine senator Leila de Lima, a former justice
minister and Duterte's top critic who was jailed in 2017 on drug
charges after leading an investigation into thousands of deaths
during the anti-narcotics campaign.
She has won numerous awards from human rights groups, which
consider her a prisoner of conscience.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila could not immediately be reached
for comment outside office hours.