U.S. Says It Will Work with Philippines’ Duterte
The Associated Press reports that “the United States said Sunday that it would work with the Philippine president to address any concerns after he threatened to terminate a pact that allows U.S. troops to visit the Philippines.”
“President Rodrigo Duterte was enraged after a U.S. government aid agency deferred a vote on a renewal of a major development assistance package for the Philippines over concerns about extrajudicial killings in Duterte’s war on illegal drugs, which has left thousands dead.”
“Although no decision on the aid package has been taken, Duterte on Saturday launched an expletives-laden tirade, telling the U.S. to ‘prepare to leave the Philippines, prepare for the eventual repeal or the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement.'”