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President Rodrigo Duterte said Friday that the United States must “pay” if it wants to maintain its Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the Philippines.
During the inspection of the newly delivered air assets at Clark Air Base in Pampanga, Duterte accused the United States of taking “so much” from us, although “so much” of the Philippine demands “were not met at all.
“I would like to advise if there is an American agent here that from now on, does he want the Visiting Forces Agreement to be made? Well, you have to pay, ”Duterte said.
“It is a shared responsibility, but your share of responsibility is not gratuitous because, after all, when war breaks out, we all pay. You, kami (us) ”, he added.
Duterte said he once told former US President Donald Trump that the Philippines needed US-made guided missiles, which the Philippines was willing to pay for, “but so far, it’s still up in the air.”
“Due to the demands of the moment, your presence here is required, okey na lang ako d’yan. But in the past, we asked so much of them and nothing was delivered to them, ”Duterte said.
In February 2020, the Philippine government, on the instructions of the president, notified the US that it was eliminating the VFA, a pact passed in 1998 that allows US troops participating in joint military drills to enter the country without a passport. or visa.
The pact remains in effect after Duterte in June last year suspended its repeal “in light of political and other developments in the region.”
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