'Thank you, next': Trump fine with ending defense pact with Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Contrary to his Defense chief's earlier remarks, US President Donald Trump admitted that he does not mind the Philippines terminating its Visiting Forces Agreement with the US.

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper earlier said the decision of the Philippines to end the defense pact was a "move in the wrong direction."

Trump, however, views this move of President Rodrigo Duterte differently.

"I never minded that very much, to be honest," Trump told reporters Wednesday.

The transcript of his remarks are uploaded on the official website of the White House.

Noting that the US helped the Philippines in its campaign against ISIS-inspired militants in Marawi City in 2017, Trump said the two countries have a "very good relationship there."

"But I — I really don’t mind. If they would like to do that, that’s fine. We’ll save a lot of money," Trump said.

"You know, my views are different than other people. I view it as, 'Thank you very much. We save a lot of money,'" he added.

Trump continued to claim that US troops "came in" and "literally, single-handedly" saved the Philippines from the attacks of terrorists in Marawi City almost three years ago.

Good relationship with Duterte

The American president also noted that he has a good relationship with Duterte.

"And my relationship, as you know, is a very good one with their leader. And we’ll see what happens. They’ll have to tell me that," Trump said.

Earlier this week, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin confirmed that the Philippines had issued its notification to the US about the country's decision to abrogate the VFA.

While US Defense chief Esper considered the Philippines' decision as an "unfortunate" move, Malacañang said terminating the VFA was a "move in the right direction" and should have been done a long time ago.