President Duterte: The US shouldn't treat the Philippines like a 'chained dog'.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said the U.S. should not treat the Philippines like "a dog on a leash" and could forget about the bilateral military cooperation agreement if he remains in power longer.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: Reuters.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said today that he opposes the presence of foreign troops in the archipelago and that the United States should not treat the Philippines "like a dog on a leash," Reuters reported. Duterte made the comments before boarding a plane to Tokyo, beginning an official visit to Japan.

Referring to the visit of US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel to the Philippines on October 24, President Duterte said Washington should "forget" about the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with Manila if he remains in power longer.

"EDCA, forget about it if I'm in power long enough," he said. "I don't want to see foreign military personnel in the Philippines." Duterte did not specify what "longer power" meant. The Philippine president is only allowed one six-year term.

These comments further cast doubt on the alliance between the US and the Philippines. Duterte last week declared a "separation from the US" and a move closer to China, only to later reassure that he was not cutting ties with Washington but merely wanted to pursue an independent foreign policy.

Duterte could also cause concern for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe wants to strengthen ties with the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations such as Myanmar and Thailand to counterbalance China's influence in the region. According to Japanese officials, Abe may try to explain the importance of the United States in the region to the Philippine president.

According to VNE