Manila delays termination proceedings of US troop deal

The Philippines has suspended for the second time its decision to scrap a two-decade-old Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, said its foreign ministry.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delaying the cancellation by another six months would “enable us to find a more enhanced, mutually beneficial, mutually agreeable, and more effective and lasting arrangement on how to move forward in our mutual defence”, the foreign ministry said in a statement yesterday.