The Philippines will never allow the US to deploy nuclear weapons on its soil to counter China’s growing influence in the region, President Duterte declared, slamming Washington’s untrustworthiness even in small arms deals.

Following American withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia last week, Washington made clear that it is now free to deploy ground-launched ballistic nuclear missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers anywhere in the world - including Asia, to counter China in the region.

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Manila, which has recently enjoyed closer ties with China, will never allow American plans to materialize on its soil, Rodrigo Duterte stressed Tuesday.“That will never happen because I will not allow it,” Duterte said. “I will never allow any foreign troops... I don't want to fight China.”

You cannot place nuclear arms in the Philippines. That can never happen.

China has warned Washington that it would take all necessary countermeasures if the Pentagon goes ahead with its plans to deploy ground-based missiles on its doorstep. Despite his recent rapprochement with Beijing, Duterte made clear that the Philippines does not seek to join any military alliances, explaining that Manila was forced to seek closer ties with both Russia and China after the US in 2016 refused to sell it 26,000 rifles, under the pretext of human rights violations.

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“You were the ones responsible... you practically drove me into the waiting arms of the Chinese government,” Duterte said, blaming the US lawmakers for forfeiting the sale. “What I am supposed to do? Then I went to Russia.”

To this day, I’d like to say this to the Americans, to this day, they [Russia and China] neither demanded the payment of gratitude, nor even a toothpick, nothing

Joining military alliances amid ever-increasing global instability is simply pointless, Duterte argued, because if a war does break out between nuclear powers, we're all doomed anyway.

If you go to war and China would release all its missiles nuclear, and America and Russia.. and Britain and Italy and France, this will mean the end of all of us.

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