Alwaght – Philippine President says US Special Forces should leave the country’s southern islands on Monday.
During an oath taking ceremony in Manila, President Rodrigo Duterte said the presence of US forces could complicate offensives against Islamist militants notorious for beheading Westerners.
Duterte’s insult on US President Barak Obama before the ASEAN meeting last week resulted in a tension between the two countries and Obama called off a scheduled meeting with Duterte.
Americans still in Mindanao were high-value targets for the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf militants as counter-insurgency operations intensify, Duterte said.
"They have to go; I do not want a rift with America. But they have to go," He added "Americans, they will really kill them; they will try to kidnap them to get ransom."
The remarks cast shadow on Washington’s situation in one of its most important allies in Asia.
Washington deployed Special Forces soldiers to Mindanao in 2002 to train and advise Philippine units fighting Abu Sayyaf militants in a program that once involved 1,200 Americans.
It was discontinued in 2015 but a small presence has remained for logistics and technical support.
Washington and Manila enacted the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement giving the United States rotational access to five bases in the Philippines.
