Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has deepened his criticism of the United States, calling for the U.S. to withdraw its special forces from the country’s south and faulting American intervention for flaming extremism in region.
“The special forces, they have to go,” Duterte said. “They have to go in Mindanao, there are many whites there, they have to go… I do not want a rift with America, but they have to go.”
But the country’s foreign minister quickly sought to alleviate U.S. concerns Tuesday saying that U.S.-Philippines security deals remain intact.
[READ: Rodrigo Duterte Walks Back Comments About Obama]
“We will respect and continue to honor our treaty obligations and commitments,” Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said in a radio interview Tuesday.
Duterte explained he wanted the U.S. out of the southern Mindanao region, home to many of the country’s Muslim minority, for an incident stemming back more than a 100 years. Duterte cited the killing of Muslims during a U.S. campaign in Mindanao in the early 20th century, and he called this the root of the long restiveness of the country’s Muslim population.
“For as long as we stay with America, we will never have peace in that land,” Duterte said.
Duterte then reportedly showed photos of alleged atrocities committed by U.S. forces against Muslim Filipinos. Some of the photos, Duterte said, show American soldiers around a mass grave.
State Department spokesman John Kirby said Monday that the United States was “not aware of any official communication by the Philippine government to that that effect and to seek that result,” but was aware of Duterte’s comments.
“I’m not aware that there’s been a tangible, practical effect on relations,” Kirby said of recent developments. “We haven’t been happy about everything we’ve heard,” he added.
The odd dynamic — fiery rhetoric from Duterte, followed by official apology and assurances later — was crystallized Tuesday by comments from Yusay and others.
“Philippine-U.S. defense relations remain rock solid,” said armed forces spokesman Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla.
Duterte clarified Tuesday the he would not “cut our umbilical cord” with allies, but maintained he wanted the Philippines to chart an independent course.
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Rodrigo Duterte, Filipino President, Wants U.S. Out of Southern Philippines originally appeared on usnews.com
