No Change With Trump, Duterte Wants US Troops Gone Before He Leaves Office

President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte wants U.S. forces out of the Philippines before he leaves office in 2022.

“By the time I end my term, I do not want to see any—not only the U.S. but even African or Chinese or whatever—I do not want to see foreign military troops in my country,” Duterte said early Friday morning, The Wall Street Journal revealed.

REUTERS/Lean Daval Jr

“We are just facing rebellion; I do not expect any war against any country,” the president explained.

A small contingent of around 100 U.S. troops is stationed in the Philippines, where they support the Armed Forces of the Philippines in its operations in the southern Philippines against rebel Islamic militants.

Duterte previously threatened to end all war games and joint military exercises with the U.S. He also demanded American troops leave the Philippines within two years’ time. Furthermore, he vowed to tear up the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which gives the U.S. access to military bases in the Philippines.

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