Philippines-United States War Games May Be Suspended In 2017?
Philippines-United States War Games – The annual joint military exercises of the Philippine and American armed forces in the country might be suspended in 2017 after President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.
The said exercises, Balikatan, have been the foundation of the Philippine-US military relations after the US bases in the Philippines have been stopped its operations more than twenty years ago.
According to a report by Philstar, Lorenzana said that the agreement on the said joint Philippine-US military exercise changes every year.
According to the Defense Secretary, there is still no agreement regarding the joint military exercises by the allied nations for next year, 2017. The two parties are supposed to sign an agreement this November.
“There is a possibility it would be suspended, although the President has not really decided yet,” Lorenzana said.
For the moment, the Philippine Amphibious Landing Exercise 33 (PHILBEX) is going to end on Wednesday, October 12, wherein the said exercise has been joined by both Philippine soldiers and American Marines from October 4.
The report has mentioned that the military exercise, PHIBLEX, is an “annual US-Philippine military bilateral exercise that combines amphibious capabilities with humanitarian civic assistance efforts to strengthen interoperability and working relationships.”
In earlier reports, President Rodrigo Duterte, during his visit to Vietnam has announced that the military exercises by the two nations would be the last under his administration, but, he stressed out that the treaties with the US will still remain.
“I will serve notice to you now that this will be the last military exercise – jointly, Philippines, the US, the last one,” Duterte said.
What would be the effect of the probable suspension of the joint military exercise of the Philippines and the United States during President Duterte’s term?
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