Duterte Declares that EDCA Will Be Rescinded Eventually

PRESS RELEASE

Duterte Declares that U.S. Defense Pact Will Be Rescinded Eventually

Oct. 25, 2016 (EIRNS)—Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has finally made explicit that he will eventually rescind the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the United States, signed in 2014 by former President Corazon Aquino as an Executive Order, which allows the United States to set up military bases around the country in preparation for a war with China. On his way to Japan, Duterte told the press:

"You have the EDCA; well, forget it. If I stay here long enough, one day that EDCA will— if it’s an executive agreement then I will just...,"

signaling its end. "I look forward to the time when I no longer see any military troops or soldiers in my country except the Filipino soldiers," he said.

"There will be no more wars. Who will wage war against us? They [the United States] want to talk about the bogeyman war; stop that shit," he added, according to ABS-CBN.

Responding to Assistant Secretary of State Danny Russel’s threats over the weekend, Duterte said: "Leave the country, we will persevere. We will recover; I assure you we will live," he said. "I am not also a tuta [puppy] of any country. Mind you."