Manila: The Philippines’ Defence Department has said it will await definitive orders from President Rodrigo Duterte on whether the country would hold joint military exercises solely with US troops.
This came amid apparent mixed signals coming from Duterte, and the presidential palace, concerning the joint force readiness drills, which had been going on for more than a decade-and-a-half between the two allies.
During a meeting with Filipinos in Vietnam, Duterte said the upcoming joint drills between Filipino soldiers and American troops — the Philippines Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX 33) — “will be the last.”
“You are scheduled to hold war games again, which China does not want. I will serve notice to you now that this will be the last military exercise. Jointly, Philippines, the US, the last one,” Duterte said on Wednesday.
Duterte is eager to show that the Philippines can work with other powers and not just the United States in terms of securing itself.
China relationship with the Philippines had been strained by a dispute over territory in the South China Sea.
The PHIBLEX drills, which will be held from October 4 to 12 in various parts of Luzon, are aimed at strengthening the capabilities of the Philippines militarily and the US.
They are part of a number of similar other military exercises conducted by the two allies regularly.
For his part, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he would ask Duterte to clarify his order.
“As stated earlier, all agreements and treaties with the US are still in effect. As to succeeding exercises, we will have to sit down with our US counterparts to discuss them,” he said.
For his part, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Duterte was thinking along the lines that the security relationship should not be limited to between the US and the Philippines, but also to include other countries.
“There are also certain modifications in the relationships. There are other activities that should be open to other nations,” Abella said.
