Duterte not keen on VFA with Japan, hopes for day when ‘no troops except Filipinos’ in country

From InterAksyon (Oct 25): Duterte not keen on VFA with Japan, hopes for day when ‘no troops except Filipinos’ in country

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he looks forward to “the time when I no longer see any military troops or soldier in my country except the Filipino soldier.”

Answering questions from media before flying to Japan for a three-day official visit, Duterte said he is not keen on forging a Visiting Forces Agreement with Japan.

During a state visit to Japan last year, former Benigno Aquino III had said the country was ready to open talks on a possible VFA. And on the eve of Duterte’s official visit, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, citing improving relations between the two countries, told a forum that he would “have it studied.”

But asked if he would discuss the VFA with Japanese officials he will be meeting during his visit, Duterte said: “No, I don’t think so.”

He then invoked Article II, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution: "The State shall pursue an independent foreign policy. In its relations with other states the paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest, and the right to self-determination."

“To that extent,” he said, “I would like to say this with all candor, I look forward to the time when I no longer see any military troops or soldier in my country except the Filipino soldier.”

“In the matter of stationing of (foreign) military troops in my country, I really hate it. We don’t need it,” he said. “We’re not going to war and there’s not going to be any war in the future.”

Duterte also said he intended to explain his desire to pursue an independent foreign policy to Japan “with full trust that we can understand each other and Japan will understand my position … a policy that is truly Filipino.”

After embarking on another lengthy rant on the US and other critics of his human rights record and the war on drugs, Duterte also tossed off a vague hint about what he wants to happen with the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, the executive agreement that expands on the VFA with the US by allowing the increased presence of American troops and their use of local military facilities.

“You have the EDCA, forget it,” he said. “If I stay here long enough …”

WATCH EXCERPTS OF PRESIDENT DUTERTE'S PRE-DEPARTURE SPEECH:



http://www.interaksyon.com/article/133658/duterte-not-keen-on-vfa-with-japan-hopes-for-day-when-no-troops-except-filipinos-in-country