PRESIDENT Duterte’s decision to extend the suspension of the termination process for the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States will give him time to come up with an “informed” decision on the issue, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Tuesday.
The Commander in Chief’s order of extension for another six months was announced on Monday night by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., a move welcomed by the defense establishment.
The US Embassy in Manila also issued a statement hailing the development. “We welcome the Government of the Philippines’ decision to again suspend termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement [VFA],” the embassy said in a statement. “Our alliance continues to contribute not only to the security of our two nations, but also strengthens the rules-based order hat benefits all nations in the Indo-Pacific.”
Lorenzana, for his part, said in a statement released through defense spokesman Arsenio Andolong: “The DND [Department of National Defense] fully supports the President’s decision to suspend for another six months the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement.”
The defense chief added, “Our bilateral cooperation with the US is geared towards upholding our national interest and to the extent necessary to enhance the Philippines’ defense capability.”
The VFA serves as a legal framework for the presence of American forces in the country in their joint military training and other activities with Filipino soldiers. The DND and the Armed Forces of the Philippines consider it as an integral part of the country’s national security strategy.
The government served notice to the US for the termination of the VFA last year, but its termination has since been extended twice by Duterte. Lorenzana said in December last year that the defense and military establishments prefer that the agreement stays, although the ultimate decision rests upon the Commander in Chief.
“With the additional six months, we will further review the pros and cons of the VFA especially regarding various concerns of mutual importance to our two countries with the end in view of helping the President arrive at an informed decision on the matter,” Lorenzana said in response to Duterte’s action.
The suspension in the termination of the VFA comes as the military continues to deal with the swarming presence of hundreds of Chinese vessels in the Kalayaan Island Group and West Philippine Sea, where the Chinese have built military bases in some of its features that it has reclaimed and developed.
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