AFP engagements with US counterparts to continue with suspension of VFA abrogation

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday said it will continue its engagements with American counterparts after the Philippines once again suspended the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement with the US for another six months. 

"Our engagements will be in enhancing the interoperability between our two armed forces to meet evolving security threats and in making the AFP better prepared and capacitated to address these security concerns," AFP chief of staff General Cirilito Sobejana said in a statement.

Likewise, the Armed Forces said it will adhere to the guidance of President Rodrigo Duterte regarding the VFA, which the AFP said "benefitted both nations' armed forces."

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Monday said Duterte decided to halt the termination of the VFA for six months instead of renewing it to allow both nations to evaluate and address his "concerns regarding particular aspects of the agreement."

The Philippine government first sent an official letter of termination of the VFA to the US on Feb. 11, 2020.

In November 2020, Duterte suspended the abrogation in the wake of lingering tensions with China in the South China Sea.

The VFA is an enforcement of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty forged by the US and the Philippines as security partners after World War II. It is a framework agreement that covers the treatment and presence of American forces in the country with or without war games. —Consuelo Marquez/KG, GMA News