Relations between two traditional allies have reached a new low after Manila warned the US that it is ending an agreement that allows American troops to set foot on the Philippines soil. Manila sent formal notice to the US embassy on Tuesday that it is terminating the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).



President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesperson Salvador Panelo said it was done in order to be independent from Washington in military affairs.



It's about time we rely on ourselves, we will strengthen our own defenses and not rely on any other country.



Panelo told reporters that the nation is open to signing VFAs with other countries as long as they are "mutually beneficial, not one-sided."



Signed in 1998, the VFA regulates the entry of US warships, aircraft and soldiers into the Philippines. It also allows US troops to be immune from prosecution by local authorities for some crimes committed on the Philippines soil.

The Philippines, led by their indomitable President Duterte, have terminated their special relationship with the U.S. military:Whether Americans like to admit it or not, their government did establish a global military empire that violates the sovereignty of dozens of occupied countries. The fact that it is a self-serving empire and not the "defense against godless communism" that the empire is still sold as is obvious, given that the danger against which it purports to defend most of these countries has not existed since 1989.It's good to see countries like the Philippines pushing back against imperial Washington DC. Americans should do the same.