INIHAYAG ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na huli na ang nakatakdang joint military exercise sa pagitan ng tropa ng Pilipinas at Amerika.
Sa kanyang talumpati sa harap ng Filipino community sa Hanoi, Vietnam, sinabi ni Duterte na pinayagan na lamang niyang matuloy ang nakatakdang military exercises sa susunod na linggo para hindi mapahiya si Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.
“I would serve notice to you now that this will be the last military exercise. I will maintain the military alliance because there is an RP-US pact which our countries signed in the early ’50s. I will establish new alliances for trade and commerce and you are scheduled to hold war games again, which China does not want,” sabi ni Duterte.
Kinontra naman ni Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr., ang pahayag ni Duterte sa pagsasabing magpapatuloy ang joint military exercises hanggang 2017.
“He simply said based on the reality there does not seem to be a need for the joint military exercise, but the 2017 joint military exercise that has already been agreed upon will continue,” sabi ni Yasay na kasama ni Duterte sa Vietnam.