Duterte accuses US of building 'permanent' arsenal in Philippines

[cindy25]

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/29/17/duterte-accuses-us-of-building-permanent-arsenal-in-ph

[goldenequity]

Good catch... thx cindy25

snipped..


[Duterte] said Washington was bringing weapons into three provinces of his country to store permanently, which he said was a dangerous breach of a defense deal between them.

"They're unloading arms in the Philippines now ... I'm serving notice to the armed forces of the United States. Do not do it, I will not allow it," Duterte told a televised news conference.

"Provisions of the Visiting Forces (Agreement), there shall be no permanent facilities. A depot is by any other name a depot. It's a permanent structure to house arms."

He added: "I do not even know if there is a nuclear tip (missile) now, that they are unloading."

His comments come after the Pentagon gave the green light to build warehouses, barracks and runways this year under a 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the two longtime allies.

If U.S. arsenals were built in the Philippines, Duterte said he would consider a review of treaties "and maybe ultimately abrogate, since it is an executive order."

EDCA allows the expansion of rotational deployment of U.S. ships, aircraft and troops at five bases in the Philippines as well as the storage of equipment for humanitarian and maritime security operations.