Duterte sparks confusion with vow to scrap future US-Philippines war games, citing China’s opposition

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has sparked confusion with an announcement that joint military exercises involving Filipino and American troops next week would be the last such drills.

His position was swiftly contradicted by his foreign minister, Perfecto Yasay, who said that the 2017 drills had already been agreed and would go ahead. From 2018 onwards, the drills would be reviewed, Yasay said.

Duterte had told the Filipino community in Hanoi late Wednesday night that he will maintain the military alliance with the US because of the countries’ 1951 defence treaty. But he added that next week’s exercises will proceed only because he did not want to embarrass his defence secretary.

Duterte said during a two-day visit to meet Vietnam’s leaders that he wants to establish new trade and commercial alliances with China and Russia, and that the war games were something Beijing does not want.

“I would serve notice to you now that this will be the last military exercise,” he said. “Jointly, Philippines-US, the last one.”

“I will maintain the military alliance because there is an RP-US pact which our countries signed in the early ’50s,” he said, referring to the Republic of the Philippines. “I will establish new alliances for trade and commerce and you are scheduled to hold war games again, which China does not want.”