Philippines President Wants to Boot US Troops out Of Country’s South

Local Editor

The Philippines president said US troops "have to go" from the south of his country, blaming American soldiers for inflaming tensions with the local Muslim population.

He further added that they would "never have peace" with a US military presence.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte noted that he is opposed to US soldiers being stationed in the southern Mindanao region, recalling how American troops took part in a pacification plan against Muslim Filipinos going back over a century.

Duterte noted that this has caused a long period of resentment from the minority Muslim population against a majority of Catholics in the south.

"For as long as we stay with America, we will never have peace in that land," Duterte said on Monday, as cited by the AP.

He displayed some very old photographs dating from the early 1900s that showed women and children that had been killed by US forces.

He also warned that US troops would face difficulties if they decided not to heed his advice and leave.

Despite the bold declaration of his intention to kick the US military out of the south of the Philippines, Duterte did not say how this would be achieved or give a timeframe within which this might happen.

Meanwhile, Washington did not receive an official demand from the Philippine government with regards to the matter, US State Department spokesman John Kirby told a news conference when asked about the statement made by Duterte, Reuters reported.

He stressed that the US remains committed to its alliance with Manila but is "not aware of any official communication by the Philippine government ... to seek that result."

Since being elected to office in June, Duterte has had an uneasy relationship with Washington.

The Philippine president has been particularly annoyed at what he perceives as lecturing from the US about human rights abuses, which have followed his brutal crackdown on drugs and traffickers in the country.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team