US President Donald Trump yesterday dismissed concerns about the Philippines cancelling a major military accord, saying the decision will save Americans money.

The 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) created a legal framework for the presence of US troops in the Philippines and for organising joint military exercises.

Manila announced its decision on Tuesday – a move that the US embassy in the Philippines called a “serious step” – touching off a six-month countdown to the end of the deal.

“If they would like to do that, that’s fine, we’ll save a lot of money,” Trump told reporters at the White House, touting his “very good relationship” with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

The famously outspoken Duterte has threatened since his 2016 election to put an end to the Filipino-American alliance, with an eye towards cultivating relationships with Russia or China instead.

He specifically mentioned a desire to do away with VFA again last month, after the US cancelled the travel visa of Senator and former national police chief Ronald Dela Rosa.

VFA is divisive in the Philippines, with leftist and nationalist critics arguing that it guarantees preferential treatment for US service members accused of crimes.

Its defenders have said ending the agreement will compromise the Southeast Asian nation’s ability to defend itself and undermine the US goal of containing Beijing’s ambitions in the South China Sea. – AFP, February 13, 2020.