OH, NO !!! 
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U.S. official says ending the pact affects some 300 military engagements, including joint exercises
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Strategic sea presence
U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary R. Clarke Cooper said in a telephone news conference Monday that abrogating the pact would put at risk more than 300 military engagements, including joint training, this year between the allies.
"All the engagements, all the freedom of navigation operations, all the exercises, all the joint training, having U.S. military personnel in port, on the ground, on the flight line, does require that we have a mechanism that allows that," he said. "That's why the VFA is so important."
Terminating the VFA would affect the joint exercises and other activities with U.S. forces "which the Philippine military and law enforcement agencies need to enhance their capabilities in countering threats to national security," Locsin said.
The U.S. provided more than $550 million US in security assistance to the Philippines from 2016 to 2019, Locsin said, adding that there may be a "chilling effect on our economic relations" if the Philippines draws down its security alliance with Washington.
American forces have provided intelligence, training and aid that allowed the Philippines to deal with human trafficking, cyberattacks, illegal narcotics and terrorism, Locsin said, citing how U.S. military assistance helped Filipino forces quell a disastrous siege by Islamic State group-aligned militants in southern Marawi city in 2017.
U.S. military forces are seen aboard Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV) in the South China Sea in a Philippines-U.S. amphibious landing exercise in 2016. The U.S. has maintained a presence to deter the disputed Chinese claims of sovereignty over the body of water. (Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)
U.S. military presence in the South China Sea has also been a deterrent to aggressive actions in the disputed waters, Locsin said.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam and three other governments have rival claims in the strategic waterway.
Duterte first threatened to abrogate the VFA in late 2016 after a U.S. aid agency put on hold funds for anti-poverty projects in the Philippines. He has walked back on such threats but his government's action on Tuesday is the most serious indication of his intent to set back military ties with the U.S.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/philippines-usa-military-pact-1.5459303
..................
U.S. official says ending the pact affects some 300 military engagements, including joint exercises
..............
Strategic sea presence
U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary R. Clarke Cooper said in a telephone news conference Monday that abrogating the pact would put at risk more than 300 military engagements, including joint training, this year between the allies.
"All the engagements, all the freedom of navigation operations, all the exercises, all the joint training, having U.S. military personnel in port, on the ground, on the flight line, does require that we have a mechanism that allows that," he said. "That's why the VFA is so important."
Terminating the VFA would affect the joint exercises and other activities with U.S. forces "which the Philippine military and law enforcement agencies need to enhance their capabilities in countering threats to national security," Locsin said.
The U.S. provided more than $550 million US in security assistance to the Philippines from 2016 to 2019, Locsin said, adding that there may be a "chilling effect on our economic relations" if the Philippines draws down its security alliance with Washington.
American forces have provided intelligence, training and aid that allowed the Philippines to deal with human trafficking, cyberattacks, illegal narcotics and terrorism, Locsin said, citing how U.S. military assistance helped Filipino forces quell a disastrous siege by Islamic State group-aligned militants in southern Marawi city in 2017.
U.S. military forces are seen aboard Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV) in the South China Sea in a Philippines-U.S. amphibious landing exercise in 2016. The U.S. has maintained a presence to deter the disputed Chinese claims of sovereignty over the body of water. (Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)
U.S. military presence in the South China Sea has also been a deterrent to aggressive actions in the disputed waters, Locsin said.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam and three other governments have rival claims in the strategic waterway.
Duterte first threatened to abrogate the VFA in late 2016 after a U.S. aid agency put on hold funds for anti-poverty projects in the Philippines. He has walked back on such threats but his government's action on Tuesday is the most serious indication of his intent to set back military ties with the U.S.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/philippines-usa-military-pact-1.5459303
