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Philippines reviews war games with US, military says

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2016/nation2/10/08/philbex_philippines-usa.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">US military forces aboard Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV) manoeuvre on South China Sea near the shore during the annual Philippines-US amphibious landing exercise (PHIBLEX) in San Antonio, Zambales province, Philippines October 7, 2016. Romeo Ranoco, Reuters</div></figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - The Philippines is studying whether long-running war games with the United States continues to serve its interests, a military spokesman said Saturday.President Rodrigo Duterte has signaled an <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/28/16/duterte-2016-ph-us-military-exercises-will-be-the-last">end to joint exercises</a> with the American forces as he moves to lessen the country&#x27;s dependence on the US while closing ranks with China and Russia.Manila has notified Washington that <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/07/16/philippines-tells-us-no-more-joint-sea-patrols">joint sea patrols</a> in the South China Sea, where it is embroiled in a territorial dispute with Beijing, would be stopped.&quot;We&#x27;re following a procedure that is to conduct a review and assessment in order to find out and ascertain the benefits that we derive in these activities and if it still serves the interest of the country,&quot; said Brigadier General Restituto Padilla, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman.&quot;The partnership that we have with our allies, this does not mean with the United States alone but with others in the region, they are a very important component that we see complementary to our request to the government to increase our capability,&quot; he told ANC.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DC51vEqBIQI?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0" width="560"></iframe></figure>Duterte has repeatedly hit out at the US for criticizing his bloody war on drugs. This week he said US President Barack Obama could &quot;<a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/04/16/duterte-to-obama-go-to-hell">go to hell</a>.&quot;Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. also released a statement saying &quot;<a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/06/16/america-has-failed-philippines-yasay-says">America has failed</a>&quot; the Philippines and a reboot of the country&#x27;s foreign policy was necessary to break the country&#x27;s &quot;shackling dependency&quot; on Washington.Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Philippines <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/07/16/ph-can-cope-without-us-military-aid-defense-chief">could survive</a> without military aid from the US.The Philippines and and the US are bound by a 60-year-old Mutual Defense Treaty, which requires both parties to respond to an &quot;armed attack.&quot;<a href="http://www.gov.ph/1998/02/10/agreement-between-the-government-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines-and-the-government-of-the-united-states-of-america-regarding-the-treatment-of-united-states-armed-forces-visiting-the-philippines-f/">A Visiting Forces Agreement</a> signed in 1998 paved the way for annual war games after the Philippine Senate refused to renew the lease of Clark and Subic bases.In 2014, the two countries signed the <a href="http://www.gov.ph/2014/04/29/document-enhanced-defense-cooperation-agreement/">Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement</a>, paving the way for more American troops in the Philippines, at a time when Obama is seeking to reassert its influence in the Pacific to counter a rising China.Filipino and American Marines are holding <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/24/16/us-philippines-set-war-games-amid-duterte-tough-talk">annual amphibious exercises</a>, which will run until Oct. 12.With joint patrols with the US set to end, Padilla said it would &quot;take some time&quot; for the Philippines to build up its maritime defense capability.Padilla said the Philippines is working on a trilateral patrol of shared sea borders with Indonesia and Malaysia, where extremist groups are known to operate.

The Philippines is studying whether long-running war games with the United States continues to serve its interests, a military spokesman said Saturday.

The Philippines is studying whether long-running war games with the United States continues to serve its interests, a military spokesman said Saturday.