US President Donald Trump (WHITE HOUSE WEBSITE)
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday shrugged off Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to terminate an agreement providing legal cover to American troops during war games in the Philippines, saying the US would save money as a result.
Trump however hastened to add that the US helped defeat Islamic State-aligned groups in the Philippines and that he had good personal relations with Duterte.
“If they would like to do that, that’s fine. We’ll save a lot of money,” he told reporters covering his joint press conference with President Lenin Moreno of Ecuador at the White House.
Trump indicated some disagreement with his aides on the issue, saying; “You know, my views are different than other people. I view it as, ‘Thank you very much. We save a lot of money.'”
The US Embassy in Manila on Tuesday warned of “serious implications” following the decision to terminate the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement, which takes affect in six months.
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper described it as a “move in the wrong direction” given the Philippines’s “strategic location, the ties between our peoples, our countries.”
READ: Rebalancing the Philippines-US relationship
Here’s part of the transcript of the White House news conference:
Q The President of the Philippines decided to sever a U.S. military pact with the United States. What was your reaction to that, sir? Is there anything to convince him otherwise?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I — I never minded that very much, to be honest. We helped the Philippines very much. We helped them defeat ISIS. I get along — actually, I have a very good relationship there. But I — I really don’t mind. If they would like to do that, that’s fine. We’ll save a lot of money. You know, my views are different than other people. I view it as, “Thank you very much. We save a lot of money.”
But if you look back — if you go back three years ago, when ISIS was overrunning the Philippines, we came in and, literally, single-handedly were able to save them from vicious attacks on their islands. But I haven’t heard exactly that, what you — the way you expressed the question.
And my relationship, as you know, is a very good one with their leader. And we’ll see what happens. They’ll have to tell me that.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Thursday said the VFA’s termination was not Duterte’s smartest move.
“While admittedly, the VFA is not perfect for the Philippines as far as equitability is concerned, the timing and reasons for its abrogation are way off the mark,” he said in a statement..
“The thing is, it is not the smartest move of the President to expose ourselves naked first before looking for other options for cover.” (PressONE.ph)