Tag: Philippine-US relations

Pimentel: Senate panel to start review of VFA, other PHL-US military agreements next week

(Eagle News) — A Senate panel will start reviewing the Visiting Forces Agreement and other Philippine-US military agreements next week. Senator Koko Pimentel, chair of the foreign relations committee, said apart from the VFA, which allows US bases in the country, the Enhanced Development Cooperation Agreement and the Mutual Defense Treaty would be reviewed. Pimentel made the disclosure after the Department of Justice revealed it had been asked to study the process for terminating the […]

Trump accepts Duterte’s ASEAN summit invite

President Donald Trump has backed away from a threat to skip a summit with Southeast Asian leaders in the Philippines later this year, with the White House saying it had accepted an invitation from host Rodrigo Duterte. In a statement Friday, the White House said that Trump will visit Manila as part of a bumper November 3-14 tour of China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the US state of Hawaii. The announcement tees up a […]

President Duterte says he “would rather be friendly” with the US now; says Americans “redeemed themselves a lot”

  (Eagle News) — After directing his anger many times at the country, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday he would “rather be friendly” with the United States now. Speaking during the 116th Balangiga Encounter Day in Eastern Samar, he said he was “under advice” by the Department of Foreign Affairs that he should “temper (his) language and avoid cursing,” something which he said he was “prone to do if (he gets) emotional.” Besides, Duterte […]

US, PHL troops simulate plane hijacking, hostage rescue

US and Philippine forces have staged an exercise simulating the seizure of an American plane by Islamic State and a hostage rescue, as they look to refocus their military alliance towards counter-terrorism. The five-day training exercise which ended Tuesday was the first of its kind and saw more than 400 troops, airport police and hostage negotiators create a mock hijack of a plane by an IS cell that forced it to land at Clark airport […]

US gives surveillance planes to Philippines

The United States donated surveillance aircraft and began delivering weapons to the Philippines on Thursday to help its Asian country fight Islamist militants. The two Cessna C208B planes, which together with their equipment are worth more than $30 million, will track Islamic State group-styled gunmen as well as patrol maritime borders, US ambassador Sung Kim and Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said. “These planes are the latest… manifestation of all that our alliance is supposed to be, […]

Philippine-US relations will not change — US embassy official

QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News) — Despite the change in leadership, there will be no change in the relations between the United States and the Philippines. According the US Charges d’ Affaires Michael Klecheski, the US places importance on the relationship between the two countries and that such relationship will not be affected by the disagreement between the two countries’ leaders.