Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte demanded the United States pay the Southeast Asian country to maintain the troop deployment agreement between the two nations.
“I’d like to put on notice if there is an American agent here, from now on, [if] you want the Visiting Forces Agreement done, you have to pay,” he said while speaking to troops on Friday after inspecting newly acquired air assets, according to Reuters.
While the president didn’t specify a dollar amount, he stressed that warfare between the U.S. and China in the South China Sea would prove costly to all involved.
“It is a shared responsibility, but your share of responsibility does not come free. After all, when the war breaks out, we all pay,” he said.
Officials from both countries met on Thursday to discuss their differences over the VFA, which was the first such meeting under President Biden’s administration.
Duterte unilaterally canceled the VFA last year in retaliation for an ally getting denied a U.S. visa. The Philippines has twice delayed Duterte’s decision to terminate the agreement since last February, allowing the country to work with Washington on a long-term pact.
The agreement also affects the Pentagon’s plans to counter China’s growing military power in southeastern Asia. Chinese forces have built artificial islands in the South China Sea, claiming sovereignty over vast waterways without regard for Philippine claims. Last month, Manila deemed China’s actions “a verbal threat of war” after Beijing reportedly threatened a shooting conflict, further escalating tensions in the region.
The U.S. is required by a Mutual Defense Treaty to defend the Philippines, a bond that American strategists value in part because the same measures that protect the Philippines could also deter Chinese threats against other American bases and allies in the region.
While Duterte hopes not to engage in any potential conflict, saying the nation can “hardly afford” military engagement, he nonetheless will accept U.S. troop advancement due to the urgency of the situation so long as the superpower compensates the island nation accordingly.
“[The U.S.] is free to advance their troops in our land,” he said. “We do not like it because we want to remain neutral, but the exigency of the moment requires their presence here. I am OK with that.”
