The Philippines has suspended the revocation of its Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Tuesday.
In a tweet on his personal Twitter account, Locsin said “I issued this diplomatic note to the US ambassador. It has been received by Washington and well at that. The Note is self-explanatory and does not require comment except from me,” adding a photo of the note on his tweet.
I issued this diplomatic note to the US ambassador. It has been received by Washington and well at that. The Note is self-explanatory and does not require comment except from me. The abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement has been suspended upon the President’s instruction. pic.twitter.com/BXqzyNpOty
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) June 2, 2020
The note says that the Philippine government is suspending the termination of the Agreement “in light of political and other developments in the region.”
“The suspension shall start on even date and shall continue for six months,” it added.
“The abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement has been suspended upon the President’s instruction,” Locsin said in his tweet.
Back in May, Locsin said the Philippines will see through the official termination of the 21-year long military agreement in August of this year.
“We are never going back to the visiting forces agreement but there are other enduring—predictable not just ad hoc—ways of cooperation to give muscle memory to the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT),” he said. (Rommel F. Lopez)