Philippines’ defence minister says there will be no joint patrols with US in South China Sea
Lorenzana also said the Philippine military could manage if the US was to withdraw aid
The Philippine defence chief claims he has informed the US military that plans for joint patrols and naval exercises with the Americans in the disputed South China Sea have been put on hold as the country’s new president desires.
Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also said on Friday that 107 US troops involved in operating surveillance drones against Muslim militants would be asked to leave the southern part of the country when the Philippines acquires those intelligence-gathering capabilities in the near future.
Lorenzana says President Rodrigo Duterte wants to halt 28 Philippine military exercises with US forces carried out each year. Duterte has said he wants an ongoing US-Philippine combat exercise to be the last in his six-year presidency as he backs away from too much dependence on the US.
The president is trying to develop a relationship with the US that is not too dependent on one country
Lorenzana also said the US-Philippines ties are going through “bumps on the road” and the Philippine military could manage if treaty ally the United States were to withdraw aid.
Lorenzana’s remarks suggested he was following other top officials in Duterte’s administration in rallying behind the maverick president’s tough anti-US agenda after weeks of scrambling to manage the fallout from his outbursts and threats to downgrade the alliance.
