Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte to skip US-Asean summit, vows to ‘tone down’ relations with Washington
- Philippine president also said cabinet members would be barred from visiting US due to diplomatic row over Washington refusal to issue visa to one of Duterte’s allies
- Duterte reiterated his willingness to ‘terminate the VFA’, the 1998 agreement that governs US soldiers visiting for military exercises and humanitarian operations
The Philippine president said he was now “toning down” relations between the Philippines and its long-time ally and claimed to have barred members of his cabinet from travelling to the US.
“No cabinet member should be allowed to go to the United States [except the foreign affairs secretary],” he said. “I will not allow any cabinet member to go there at this time.”
Since becoming president in 2016, Duterte has repeatedly threatened to “break up” the Southeast Asian nation’s alliance with the US, while pursuing closer ties with China.
The current stand-off was set in motion when the US Senate last month passed a resolution seeking sanctions against Philippine officials involved in the drug war and the detention of Senator Leila De Lima, a Duterte critic who is now in prison on drug charges.
“We will not sit idly if they continue to interfere with our processes as a sovereign state,” Philippine presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in December.
