http://www.wsj.com/articles/duterte...tary-advisers-from-the-philippines-1473692769
Duterte Demands Departure of U.S. Military Advisers from the Philippines
The Philippine president said they were a prime target for extremist group Abu Sayyaf
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte holds up a photo and cites accounts of U.S. troops who killed Muslims during the U.S.'s occupation of the Philippines in the early-1900s.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte holds up a photo and cites accounts of U.S. troops who killed Muslims during the U.S.'s occupation of the Philippines in the early-1900s.PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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By Cris Larano
Sept. 12, 2016 11:06 a.m. ET
MANILA—Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Monday called for the U.S. to withdraw its remaining military advisers, warning that their presence in a southern island makes them a valuable target for the extremist Abu Sayyaf militant group.
The remarks by Mr. Duterte, known for his blunt speech, are likely to further complicate his already prickly relationship with the U.S. The Obama administration last week canceled a meeting with Mr. Duterte at a regional summit after he referred to President Barack Obama as a “son of a bitch” and railed against the colonial history of the Philippines. The slur against Mr. Obama was lobbed in the broader context of Mr. Duterte’s approach to human rights in his high-profile war on drugs.
“For as long as we stay with America, we will never have peace,” Mr. Duterte said Monday during a swearing-in ceremony for public officials here. “We might as well give it up.”
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He also warned that the continued presence of U.S. personnel in the Philippines risks inflaming an already volatile campaign to track down members of Abu Sayyaf, whom security experts estimate to number around 300 fighters.
Abu Sayyaf will kill Americans, Mr. Duterte said. “They will try to kidnap them for ransom,” he said.
The comments sparked criticism from other Philippine politicians.
Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a former navy officer, said Mr. Duterte was letting emotion cloud his judgment.
“The anti-U.S. bias of President Duterte should not be the basis of the re-crafting of our security policies,” Mr. Trillanes said in a statement. “The U.S. special operations forces have been instrumental in the development and increased effectiveness of our (Armed Forces of the Philippines).”
The U.S. Embassy in Manila couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Philippine military officials also couldn’t be reached for comment.
U.S. forces have been stationed in the southern Philippines since 2002, training and advising Filipino troops in their campaign against Abu Sayyaf, an affiliate of al Qaeda which has earned a grisly reputation for kidnapping and beheading Westerners. More recently the group has declared allegiance to Islamic State. Abu Sayyaf said its supporters were responsible for a bombing in Davao City earlier this month that killed 14 people. Mr. Duterte previously served as mayor of Davao City.
At its peak, the U.S.-Philippine operation involved more than 1,000 Americans before officially ending in 2015. A few advisers and technical-support teams remain.
Mr. Duterte’s remarks raise further questions about the relations between the U.S. and the Philippines, traditionally one of America’s strongest allies in the Asia-Pacific region. He has said close ties with the U.S. are important, but he is also adamant in holding America to account for what he sees as its past excesses.
On Monday, before calling for the remaining U.S. forces to leave, he displayed pictures from the early 20th century showing American soldiers standing over a mass grave of Muslims in the southern Philippines during the U.S.’s long campaign to pacify the region after the Spanish-American War.
Mr. Duterte’s spokesman, Ernesto Abella, subsequently issued a statement saying that the Philippine president’s remarks were aimed at emphasizing how the country is now attempting to craft an independent foreign policy. Mr. Abella also said Mr. Duterte wants the U.S. to atone for what he perceives as the injustices inflicted on Muslim Filipinos in the southern Philippines, which Mr. Duterte has singled out as one of the roots of the continuing insurgency there.
“The American silence on the matter lacks congruence with its ‘moral’ position, in the light of actions taken in the past by the Germans who confessed and made atonement for the Holocaust, and Japan, which made reparations for the atrocities it perpetrated among the peoples they conquered,” Mr. Abella said.
Under previous leader Benigno Aquino III, the Philippines had worked to expand its military relations with Washington.
Write to Cris Larano at [email protected]
Duterte Demands Departure of U.S. Military Advisers from the Philippines
The Philippine president said they were a prime target for extremist group Abu Sayyaf
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte holds up a photo and cites accounts of U.S. troops who killed Muslims during the U.S.'s occupation of the Philippines in the early-1900s.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte holds up a photo and cites accounts of U.S. troops who killed Muslims during the U.S.'s occupation of the Philippines in the early-1900s.PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
SHARE
By Cris Larano
Sept. 12, 2016 11:06 a.m. ET
MANILA—Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Monday called for the U.S. to withdraw its remaining military advisers, warning that their presence in a southern island makes them a valuable target for the extremist Abu Sayyaf militant group.
The remarks by Mr. Duterte, known for his blunt speech, are likely to further complicate his already prickly relationship with the U.S. The Obama administration last week canceled a meeting with Mr. Duterte at a regional summit after he referred to President Barack Obama as a “son of a bitch” and railed against the colonial history of the Philippines. The slur against Mr. Obama was lobbed in the broader context of Mr. Duterte’s approach to human rights in his high-profile war on drugs.
“For as long as we stay with America, we will never have peace,” Mr. Duterte said Monday during a swearing-in ceremony for public officials here. “We might as well give it up.”
ADVERTISEMENT
He also warned that the continued presence of U.S. personnel in the Philippines risks inflaming an already volatile campaign to track down members of Abu Sayyaf, whom security experts estimate to number around 300 fighters.
Abu Sayyaf will kill Americans, Mr. Duterte said. “They will try to kidnap them for ransom,” he said.
The comments sparked criticism from other Philippine politicians.
Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a former navy officer, said Mr. Duterte was letting emotion cloud his judgment.
“The anti-U.S. bias of President Duterte should not be the basis of the re-crafting of our security policies,” Mr. Trillanes said in a statement. “The U.S. special operations forces have been instrumental in the development and increased effectiveness of our (Armed Forces of the Philippines).”
The U.S. Embassy in Manila couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Philippine military officials also couldn’t be reached for comment.
U.S. forces have been stationed in the southern Philippines since 2002, training and advising Filipino troops in their campaign against Abu Sayyaf, an affiliate of al Qaeda which has earned a grisly reputation for kidnapping and beheading Westerners. More recently the group has declared allegiance to Islamic State. Abu Sayyaf said its supporters were responsible for a bombing in Davao City earlier this month that killed 14 people. Mr. Duterte previously served as mayor of Davao City.
At its peak, the U.S.-Philippine operation involved more than 1,000 Americans before officially ending in 2015. A few advisers and technical-support teams remain.
Mr. Duterte’s remarks raise further questions about the relations between the U.S. and the Philippines, traditionally one of America’s strongest allies in the Asia-Pacific region. He has said close ties with the U.S. are important, but he is also adamant in holding America to account for what he sees as its past excesses.
On Monday, before calling for the remaining U.S. forces to leave, he displayed pictures from the early 20th century showing American soldiers standing over a mass grave of Muslims in the southern Philippines during the U.S.’s long campaign to pacify the region after the Spanish-American War.
Mr. Duterte’s spokesman, Ernesto Abella, subsequently issued a statement saying that the Philippine president’s remarks were aimed at emphasizing how the country is now attempting to craft an independent foreign policy. Mr. Abella also said Mr. Duterte wants the U.S. to atone for what he perceives as the injustices inflicted on Muslim Filipinos in the southern Philippines, which Mr. Duterte has singled out as one of the roots of the continuing insurgency there.
“The American silence on the matter lacks congruence with its ‘moral’ position, in the light of actions taken in the past by the Germans who confessed and made atonement for the Holocaust, and Japan, which made reparations for the atrocities it perpetrated among the peoples they conquered,” Mr. Abella said.
Under previous leader Benigno Aquino III, the Philippines had worked to expand its military relations with Washington.
Write to Cris Larano at [email protected]
