Philippines extends suspension of VFA termination, eyes long-term defence pact with US
- Manila has for the second time postponed its decision to scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement that allows US troops to operate in the Southeast Asian nation
- The Philippine foreign ministry says President Duterte ordered the extension ‘in appreciative recognition’ of Washington’s part in keeping the South China Sea stable
The initial six-month suspension of the Philippines’ abrogation of the VFA was meant to expire in December, and the further six-month suspension announced on Wednesday means the new deadline will reach the early days of President-elect Joe Biden’s term.
“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,” he said, making no specific mention of China’s recent assertiveness in the disputed waterway.
“A great deal of credit for the renewal of stability and security goes to deft diplomacy, unequivocal expressions of policy, sturdy postures of strength combined with unfailing tact, and pragmatic national security advice exhibited by both our governments in the same period.”
The Philippines is a treaty ally of the United States with several military agreements dependent on the VFA, which provides the legal framework for Washington’s troops to operate on a rotational basis in the Southeast Asian nation. Wednesday’s announcement was the first time Manila had formally told Washington that an abrogation of the VFA would not mean the end of military-to-military cooperation between the countries.
Duterte had notified Washington in February that he was cancelling the deal amid outrage over a senator and ally, former national police chief Ronald dela Rosa, being denied a US visa. In June, however, Locsin announced that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the VFA cancellation would be put on hold and reviewed for six months.
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.
Ruffy Biazon, senior vice-chairman of the Philippine House of Representatives committee on defence and security, welcomed the move and called it “timely”.
“It’s a fresh start for us,” he told This Week in Asia. “[The announcement] signals our willingness to talk and have that agreement with the Americans. It is a signal to the US we are not satisfied with what we have now.”
Biazon added that he hoped the incoming Biden administration would look to continue the alliance, but also be prepared to take up issues the Philippines was concerned about, particularly jurisdiction over criminal cases.
Former Philippine senator Antonio Trillanes IV said President Duterte was using the VFA as “political leverage” against the US.
“The Duterte administration, from the very start, didn’t really intend to terminate the VFA,” he said. “Duterte knows how important the VFA is for the US, that’s why he is dangling its termination to keep the US from pursuing policies that may be detrimental to him.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
