A day after Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte declared that upcoming war games with the United States would be “the last”, his foreign minister has stressed that the country will respect its military pacts with its treaty partner.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. told reporters in Vietnam, where he and Duterte are paying an official visit, that the president “will respect all of our treaty commitments with the United States”.
The statement Wednesday came after Duterte told a gathering of the Filipino community in Hanoi that the joint Philippines-US military exercises scheduled for next month would will be “the last" due to his unwillingness to antagonize China.
"You [U.S.] are scheduled to hold war games again which China does not want. I will serve notice to you now, this will be the last military exercise. Jointly, Philippines-US, the last one," Philippines media quoted him as saying.
"So I am serving notice now to the Americans, I will maintain the military alliance... but I will establish new alliances in trade and commerce," he underlined, referring to how he has reached out to China and Russia to open economic partnerships.
He pledged to never send warships to the disputed South China Sea -- which Manila calls the West Philippine Sea -- indicating that a July 12 ruling by a Hague court in favor of the Philippines had upheld the country’s rights in the resource-rich waters.
"There will never be an occasion that I will send a grey ship there. Not because I’m afraid. Amway, I have this ruling of the international arbitration court which says that the South China Sea, the entitlements there are ours," he said.
After the comments, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. told reporters that Duterte's comments on war games were intended for this year rather than the president’s entire term.
"My understanding is, it's the last for the year… We will clarify," Esperon was quoted as saying by Rappler.com.
On Thursday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Yasay said: “If our agreements with the United States in so far as war games are concerned is there, and these should be done pursuant to the agreement that we have, that will be respected, that will continue.”
Since winning the May 9 election, Duterte has declared that his administration would pursue an “independent foreign policy” in which Manila does not rely on Washington, and has even called for the withdrawal of U.S. special forces from the southern region of Mindanao.
Earlier this month, he said he no longer wants the Philippines to participate in joint sea patrols with other countries -- seemingly again turning his nose up at the U.S. and his predecessor’s agreement with Washington to start joint patrols in the South China Sea.
On Wednesday, Duterte reiterated his refusal to join patrols in the area.
"There is only two, either we go to war, or we talk. We cannot beat the strength of China. I will tell you even with the help of America. So, we talk," he said.
Referring to the Hague-based international tribunal’s July ruling, he added, “when the time comes, I will tell China, this [disputed reefs] is ours I will talk to you but I will not go out of the four corners of this paper. But this is not the time to die. I am not ready to commit the soldiers of this country just to be massacred."