杜特蒂報復美國 中止與美軍協定 蘋果20020212

【縛雞之見】

The keywords such as notify, intent, terminate, treaty alliance, etc. might give us a clue.

This decision of the termination of the alliance was made by President Duterte, whose Minister of Foreign Affairs opposed it, and his military staffs have not responded yet, meaning it might be a personal decision making.

This termination has room to get fixed in the next 180 days after the receiving of the notice by the U.S. 

However, we have to link the termination and the Wuhan Coronavirus and find any possibility of Beijing's intention to distract the energy of the U.S. from the pandemic.

杜特蒂報復美國 中止與美軍協定    蘋果20020212

菲律賓昨通知美國，退出對雙方軍事聯盟極為重要的協議，如果成真，將影響美國在亞太區尤其是中國虎視耽耽的南海利益。

菲律賓總統杜特蒂（Rodrigo Duterte）下令中止1998年生效的《訪問部隊協議》（Visiting Forces Agreement，VFA）。VFA是美軍駐菲的法律框架，支持者指其可鞏固菲國國防，反對者則批評它給美軍特權。沒有VFA，規定兩國每年要進行數十次聯合軍演的2014年《增強防務合作協議》（EDCA）及保證互助防衛的1951年《美菲聯防條約》，也會形同虛設。

通知後180天，菲律賓才會正式退出VFA，這期間雙方理論上可靠談判挽救協議，但杜特蒂的發言人帕內洛（Salvador Panelo）指，杜特蒂不會理會華府任何拯救VFA的提議，他表示杜特蒂稱，「是我們仰賴自己的時候了，要強化自己的國防，不要依賴任何國家。」

美國駐菲大使館指菲國此舉「嚴重而有明顯意義」，會謹慎考慮推動雙方共同利益的最佳方法。

杜特蒂早在美國2016年扣起對菲國的滅貧援助後，就已揚言退出VFA，但上月重提，因曾領導緝毒戰的前國家警察總長羅沙的美國簽證被無故取消；緝毒戰導致數千人死亡，涉及法外殺人，被國際社會批評為侵犯人權。杜特蒂以往常批評美國的國防政策，反而大讚中國和俄羅斯。

Philippine leader terminates troop agreement with U.S.    Japan Times 20020211

The Philippines on Tuesday notified the United States of its intent to terminate a major security pact allowing American forces to train in the country in the most serious threat to the countries’ treaty alliance under President Rodrigo Duterte.

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said in a tweet Manila’s notice of termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement was received by the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Manila. He refused to provide other details on the drastic step “as a diplomatic courtesy.”

Locsin signed the notice on orders of Duterte, who has often criticized U.S. security policies while praising those of China and Russia despite the Philippine military’s close historic ties with its American counterpart.

“Trump, and the others, are trying to save the Visiting Forces Agreement. I said, I don’t want it,” Duterte said according to the official transcript of a speech in Manila on Monday night.

The Philippines’ leader has previously questioned whether the U.S. would defend the Philippines if China seizes disputed shoals and reefs in the South China Sea — skepticism that has persisted in the Southeast Asian nation for decades. Beijing has built several artificial structure in the Spratly Islands where Manila also has claims. Philippine fishermen and vessels resupplying Philippine-occupied features in the waters have also been harassed by Chinese ships.

Defense ties between the Philippines and former colonial ruler the United States go back to the early 1950s and are governed by a Mutual Defence Treaty, which remains intact, along with an Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement made under the Obama administration.

Duterte made the decision after the top commander of his war on drugs, former police chief Ronald dela Rosa, said his U.S. visa had been rescinded over an issue related to the detention of a senator and top critic of Duterte.

The VFA, signed in 1998, accords legal status to thousands of U.S. troops rotated in the country for humanitarian assistance and military exercises, dozens of which take place annually.

It is the first time Duterte has scrapped an agreement with the United States, having throughout his more than three years in office denounced Washington for hypocrisy and for treating the Philippines “like a dog on a leash.”

Despite reassurances from his generals, Duterte has long accused U.S. forces of conducting clandestine activities. In his speech on Monday, he said U.S. nuclear weapons were being stored in his country.

He has argued that the presence of U.S. forces makes the Philippines a potential target for aggression.

In a Senate hearing last week, Locsin warned that abrogating the security accord with Washington would undermine Philippine security and foster aggression in the disputed South China Sea. U.S. military presence in the strategic waterway has been seen as a crucial counterweight to China, which has claimed virtually the entire sea.

Locsin proposed a review of the agreement to fix contentious issues instead of abrogating it.  Philippine defense and military officials did not immediately issue any reaction to the government move.

The termination of the 1999 agreement would take effect 180 days after Washington received Manila’s notice but both could decide to keep the pact during the waiting period, Philippine officials said.