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UPDATE 1-Philippines extends termination process of U.S. troop deal, eyes long-term defence pact

Published 11/11/2020, 04:23 PM
Updated 11/11/2020, 04:30 PM
© Reuters.

(Adds details, background)
MANILA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The Philippines has suspended its
decision to scrap a two-decade-old Visiting Forces Agreement
(VFA) with the United States for a second time as the allies
work on a long-term mutual defence arrangement, Manila's foreign
ministry said on Wednesday.
The new deadline will reach the early days of
President-elect Joe Biden's term.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the extra six
months "To enable us to find a more enhanced, mutually
beneficial, mutually agreeable, and more effective and lasting
arrangement on how to move forward in our mutual defense,"
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin said in a statement.
"The past four years have changed the South China Sea from
one of uncertainty about great powers' intentions to one of
predictability and resulting stability with regard to what can
and cannot be done," Locsin said.
The Philippines is a treaty ally of the United States with
several military agreements dependent on the VFA, which provides
the legal framework for which Washington's troops can operate on
a rotational basis in the Southeast Asian nation.
Duterte had notified Washington in February that he was
cancelling the deal amid outrage over a senator and ally being
denied a U.S. visa. The initial six-month suspension of the Philippines'
abrogation of the VFA would expire in December.
Since taking the presidency in 2016, Duterte has fostered
warmer ties with Beijing, shelving a territorial spat over the
South China Sea, while setting aside traditional partners like
the United States and Europe.
But much of China's pledges of billions of dollars of loans,
aid and investment have yet to reach the Philippines.
The U.S. embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.

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