Manila wants more than ‘loose change’ for US troop deal

The United States is providing the Philippines with military aid that amounts to “loose change” compared to other Asian countries, a top government spokesman said, supporting demands by President Rodrigo Duterte for Washington to pay more.

Duterte said last week that the United States should pay more if it wanted to maintain the two-decade-old Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which he unilaterally cancelled last year in an angry response to an ally being denied a US visa.