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President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines (left) and United States President Donald Trump – Photo: AP
According to Radio CNNDuring a meeting with the Philippine infectious disease response force on the night of December 26, President Rodrigo Duterte said that he wanted US troops to leave Philippine territory if Washington did not provide the COVID-19 vaccine to the country. This family.
“The Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) will end. If I don’t renew, they will have to leave,” Duterte warned.
Signed in 1999, the VFA allows US military forces to have a presence in the Philippines and has been a key part of the US-Philippines Joint Defense Treaty for decades.
In early 2020, Duterte announced that it would cancel the VFA, so this agreement would only last until August of this year. However, it suddenly announced that it would suspend the cancellation process twice (in June and November 2020), so the agreement is still in effect until August 2021, according to the news site. Rappler (Philippines).
“If the United States does not provide us with at least 20 million doses of vaccines, then it is better for them (American soldiers) to leave. Without vaccines, to stay here” – stressed Duterte.
Duterte’s speech received applause in the room with many cabinet officials.
“If America wants to help, move the vaccines, stop talking. What we need is a vaccine, not your lengthy statements,” he said.
Earlier, Secretary of State Teodoro Locsin of the Philippines said that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had committed to helping the Philippines obtain the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer (US).
