Philippines again suspends scrapping of troop pact with U.S. amid China dispute

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

MANILA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Philippines has again suspended a decision to scrap a crucial agreement governing the U.S. troop presence in the country, its foreign minister said on Monday, amid continuing maritime pressure from China.

The Pentagon welcomed the announcement from Manila - the third suspension of the decision covering the two-decade-old Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that had been due to expire in August - but analysts said there would be disappointment in both countries that it was not renewed.

Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin said the suspension would be for a further six months while President Rodrigo Duterte "studies, and both sides further address his concerns regarding, particular aspects of the agreement".

The Philippines is a U.S. treaty ally and several military agreements are dependent on the VFA, which provides rules for the rotation of thousands of U.S. troops in and out of the Philippines for war drills and exercises.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/philippines-again-suspends-scrapping-troop-115526632.html

[soryang]

1. Duterte is working this for all its worth

He's a shrewd character. He will try to extract the most concessions from both China and the US. He knows he won't make any inroads on the overlapping EEZ issues, he's looking for more foreign investments from China to sweeten the pot. Likewise he could gain more from the US. I think the SOFA type extraterritoriality provisions in the VFA are a bitter pill for Asian states. South Korean and Okinawans feel the same way.