Duterte says he wants U.S. special forces out of southern Philippines

MANILA, Sept 12 (Reuters) - President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday called for the withdrawal of U.S. special forces troops from a group of islands in the southern Philippines, saying their presence could complicate offensives against Islamist militants notorious for beheading Westerners.

Duterte, who was in the spotlight last week over a televised tirade against the United States and President Barack Obama, said the Americans still in Mindanao were high-value targets for the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf militants as counter-insurgency operations intensify.

"They have to go," Duterte said in a speech during an oath-taking ceremony for new officials. "I do not want a rift with America. But they have to go."

He added: "Americans, they will really kill them, they will try to kidnap them to get ransom."

The comments by Duterte, a former southern mayor known for his terse words and volatile temperament, add to uncertainty about what impact his rise to the presidency this year will have on one of Washington's most important alliances in Asia.

A spokesman for the U.S. State Department, John Kirby, said it was not aware of any official communication by Manila calling for a withdrawal. He said Washington remained committed to the alliance.

Another U.S. official said there were only a "handful" of special forces in the Mindanao acting in limited liaison roles.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest emphasised shared concerns and interests with the Philippines, before taking a thinly veiled swipe at Duterte, appearing to compare him to Donald Trump, the outspoken Republican candidate in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election.

"I think it's an indication of how important elections are," Earnest told a regular news briefing."Elections have consequences. Elections do say a lot about what kind of person is going to represent your country on the international stage.

"And it's why you are going to prize qualities like decorum and temperament and judgment in casting votes in elections, because you know that person is going to represent you on the international stage. That's certainly something that the Filipino people are well aware of."

Obama cancelled a planned meeting with Duterte at last week's ASEAN summit after Duterte appeared to call him a "son of a bitch". The two did eventually meet briefly and on Friday Duterte said he told Obama the remark was not directed against him.

Washington deployed special forces soldiers to Mindanao in 2002 to train and advise Philippine units fighting Abu Sayyaf militants in a program that once involved 1,200 Americans.

It was discontinued in 2015 but a small presence has remained for logistics and technical support.

Washington has since shifted much of its security focus in the Philippines towards the South China Sea, where the two countries have shared concerns about China's territorial claims.

As a counter to China, shortly before Duterte came to office, Washington and Manila enacted the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement giving the United States rotational access to five bases in the Philippines.

Commander Gary Ross, a Pentagon spokesman, said on Monday that it would "consult closely with our Filipino partners to appropriately tailor our assistance to whatever approach the new administration adopts" on counter-terrorism measures. (Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton, David Brunnstrom, Phil Stewart, Ayesha Rascoe, Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Martin Petty and Grant McCool)</s>Philippine president wants US forces out of restive south

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine president says he wants U.S. forces out of his country's restive south and blamed America for the restiveness of Muslim militants in the region and for the killings of Muslim Filipinos during a U.S. pacification campaign in the early 1900s.

President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday that Americans would constantly be in danger in the southern Mindanao region, where Islamic extremists would constantly try to kill or kidnap them for ransom. He did not mention any deadline or give other details.

The U.S. Embassy did not immediately issue any reaction.

Duterte also criticized President Barack Obama for raising human rights concerns about the Philippine leader's bloody crackdown against drugs when the U.S. leader, he says, has not apologized for the American atrocities against local Muslims.</s>Duterte orders US advisers out of southern Philippines

President Rodrigo Duterte ratcheted up his feud with the United States on Monday, ordering all American special forces out of the southern Philippines where they have been advising local troops battling Muslim extremists.

Duterte's order came a week after he called US President Barack Obama "a son of a whore", causing Obama to cancel their scheduled bilateral meeting at a summit in Laos.

The Filipino leader, the first to hail from the south and who claims Muslim ancestry, has been stepping up efforts to bring peace to the southern Philippines, where decades-long insurgencies with Muslim and communist rebels have claimed more than 150,000 lives.

Last month he restarted peace talks with the largest separatist group, the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which like others has been fighting since the 1970s for an independent Islamic state or autonomous rule.

US advisors in the area help train Filipino troops but are barred from engaging in combat except in self-defence.

Previously, about 500-600 US personnel rotated through the Mindanao region but in 2014, then-defence secretary Voltaire Gazmin said this would be cut back to 200.

Duterte did not specify when or how many Americans would be expelled but said the Philippines alignment with the West was at the root of the persistent Muslim insurgency.

"These US special forces, they have to go in Mindanao," he told a gathering of government employees.

"The (Muslim) people will become more agitated. If they see an American, they will really kill him."

The US embassy could not be reached for comment.

The United States is Manila's main military ally and the Philippines' colonial ruler until 1946. In his speech, Duterte showed photographs and cited accounts of how US troops killed Muslims during America's occupation of the Philippines in the early-1900s to explain his decision.

Duterte's spokesman Ernesto Abella said that "the statement reflects (President Duterte's) new direction towards coursing an independent foreign policy".

The Filipino leader also hit out at Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for criticising his bloody crackdown on crime that has claimed 3,000 lives in a little over two months.

"This Obama, when you accuse me of killing... let he who is without sin, cast the first stone," he said.

In a brief encounter in Laos, Obama urged the Filipino leader to conduct his crime war "the right way" and protect human rights, but Duterte has dismissed it as being none of America's business.</s>CLOSE President Rodrigo Duterte ratchets up his feud with the United States, ordering all American special forces out of the southern Philippines where they have been advising local troops battling Muslim extremists. Video provided by AFP Newslook

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte holds up a photo -- and cites accounts of U.S. troops who killed Muslims during the U.S. occupation of the Philippines in the early-1900 -- during a speech in Manila on Sept. 12, 2016. (Photo: Ted Aljibe, AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. forces advising the Philippine military against an Islamic insurgency are doing more harm than good and must leave, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday.

Duterte, who made international headlines last week by crudely insulting President Obama, said white Westerners are an inviting target for kidnap-for-ransom groups such as the militant Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines. Duterte blamed his government's ties to the West — and a grisly U.S. military operation that targeted Muslims more than 100 years ago — for fueling much of the unrest centered in the Mindanao island group.

”I do not want a rift with America, but they have to go," Duterte, who is from the Mindanao region, said during a speech in Manila. "Americans, they (insurgents) will really kill them."

Duterte said he had planned to raise the issue last week when he and Obama attended the ASEAN Summit in Laos but did not do so "out of respect." He provided no timeline for a U.S. exit.

In Washington, the White House said it had not received a formal request to remove U.S. military personnel, spokesman Josh Earnest said. He added that Duterte had a tendency to make “colorful comments,” the Associated Press reported.

Duterte spokesman Ernesto Abella said the Philippine president's comments reflected the government's "new direction toward coursing an independent foreign policy."

Abella also pointed to lasting resentment over the U.S military campaign in 1906 that led to the slaughter of hundreds of Muslims in the southern Philippines. Duterte has criticized the United States for failing to apologize for the bloodbath.

"Hence our continued connection with the West is the real reason for the 'Islamic' threat in Mindanao,” Abella said in a statement issued through the Philippines News Agency .

The tough-talking Duterte has had a bumpy relationship with the U.S. since taking office in June. He drew sharp international criticism, including from the United Nations, for encouraging vigilante-style killings of drug dealers and criminals. Duterte shrugged off the controversy.

"Maybe we'll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations," Duterte said.

On Sept. 3, Duterte issued a warning before the summit began in Laos that Obama better not condemn his law-and-order policies, or “son of a bitch, I will swear at you in that forum."

Duterte later walked back the comment, saying he looked forward to "ironing out differences" between the two countries.

The Philippines was a U.S. colony from 1898 until the 1940s. The island group hosted permanent U.S. military bases until the Philippine government ordered them removed 25 years ago.

The U.S.has provided advisers some level of aid to fight Abu Sayyaf for more than a decade. Recently, the Philippine government has increased its own military effort to crush the militants.

”Those (U.S.) special forces, they have to go," Duterte said. "There are many white (people) there. They have to go."

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2cjcZI5</s>DAVAO CITY: President Rodrigo Duterte ratcheted up his feud with the United States on Monday, ordering all American special forces out of the southern Philippines where they have been advising local troops battling Muslim extremists.

Duterte’s order came a week after he called US President Barack Obama “a son of a whore”, causing Obama to cancel their scheduled bilateral meeting at a summit in Laos.

The Filipino leader, the first to hail from the south and who claims Muslim ancestry, has been stepping up efforts to bring peace to the southern Philippines, where decades-long insurgencies with Muslim and communist rebels have claimed more than 150,000 lives.

Last month he restarted peace talks with the largest separatist group, the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which like others has been fighting since the 1970s for an independent Islamic state or autonomous rule.

US advisors in the area help train Filipino troops but are barred from engaging in combat except in self-defence.

Previously, about 500-600 US personnel rotated through the Mindanao region but in 2014, then-defence secretary Voltaire Gazmin said this would be cut back to 200.

Duterte did not specify when or how many Americans would be expelled but said the Philippines alignment with the West was at the root of the persistent Muslim insurgency.

“These US special forces, they have to go in Mindanao,” he told a gathering of government employees.

“The (Muslim) people will become more agitated. If they see an American, they will really kill him.”

The Pentagon said it was aware of Duterte’s statements but had not been contacted by authorities on the issue.

“We will continue to consult closely with our Filipino partners to appropriately tailor our assistance to whatever approach the new Administration adopts,” Pentagon spokesman Gary Ross said.

The United States is Manila’s main military ally and the Philippines’ colonial ruler until 1946. In his speech, Duterte showed photographs and cited accounts of how US troops killed Muslims during America’s occupation of the Philippines in the early-1900s to explain his decision.

Duterte’s spokesman Ernesto Abella said that “the statement reflects (President Duterte’s) new direction towards coursing an independent foreign policy”.

The Filipino leader also hit out at Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for criticising his bloody crackdown on crime that has claimed 3,000 lives in a little over two months.

“This Obama, when you accuse me of killing… let he who is without sin, cast the first stone,” he said.

In a brief encounter in Laos, Obama urged the Filipino leader to conduct his war on crime “the right way” and protect human rights, but Duterte has said it is none of America’s business. AFP</s>When campaigning for the Philippine presidency last spring, Rodrigo Duterte promised to kill so many criminals that “fish will grow fat” in Manila Bay from feasting on their corpses.

Since taking office on June 30, Mr. Duterte appears to be making every effort to meet that grisly goal. Over 1,800 people have been killed by the police and vigilantes since then, and the wave of killings shows no sign of subsiding.

Many of the victims appear to have been innocent by any definition, and none had been proved guilty in a court of law. But the crackdown has struck a chord with the public, and Mr. Duterte’s popularity has been soaring.

What drives this explosion of extrajudicial violence — which, far from unique, bears striking parallels to previous waves of killings in Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Thailand and elsewhere?</s>Duterte orders US advisers out of southern Philippines

President Rodrigo Duterte ratcheted up his feud with the United States on Monday, ordering all American special forces out of the southern Philippines where they have been advising local troops battling Muslim extremists.

Duterte's order came a week after he called US President Barack Obama "a son of a whore", causing Obama to cancel their scheduled bilateral meeting at a summit in Laos.

The Filipino leader, the first to hail from the south and who claims Muslim ancestry, has been stepping up efforts to bring peace to the southern Philippines, where decades-long insurgencies with Muslim and communist rebels have claimed more than 150,000 lives.

Last month he restarted peace talks with the largest separatist group, the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which like others has been fighting since the 1970s for an independent Islamic state or autonomous rule.

US advisors in the area help train Filipino troops but are barred from engaging in combat except in self-defence.

Previously, about 500-600 US personnel rotated through the Mindanao region but in 2014, then-defence secretary Voltaire Gazmin said this would be cut back to 200.

Duterte did not specify when or how many Americans would be expelled but said the Philippines alignment with the West was at the root of the persistent Muslim insurgency.

"These US special forces, they have to go in Mindanao," he told a gathering of government employees.

"The (Muslim) people will become more agitated. If they see an American, they will really kill him."

The US embassy could not be reached for comment.

The United States is Manila's main military ally and the Philippines' colonial ruler until 1946. In his speech, Duterte showed photographs and cited accounts of how US troops killed Muslims during America's occupation of the Philippines in the early-1900s to explain his decision.

Duterte's spokesman Ernesto Abella said that "the statement reflects (President Duterte's) new direction towards coursing an independent foreign policy".

The Filipino leader also hit out at Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for criticising his bloody crackdown on crime that has claimed 3,000 lives in a little over two months.

"This Obama, when you accuse me of killing... let he who is without sin, cast the first stone," he said.

In a brief encounter in Laos, Obama urged the Filipino leader to conduct his crime war "the right way" and protect human rights, but Duterte has dismissed it as being none of America's business.</s>Philippine president wants US forces out of restive south

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine president says he wants U.S. forces out of his country's restive south and blamed America for the restiveness of Muslim militants in the region and for the killings of Muslim Filipinos during a U.S. pacification campaign in the early 1900s.

President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday that Americans would constantly be in danger in the southern Mindanao region, where Islamic extremists would constantly try to kill or kidnap them for ransom. He did not mention any deadline or give other details.

The U.S. Embassy did not immediately issue any reaction.

Duterte also criticized President Barack Obama for raising human rights concerns about the Philippine leader's bloody crackdown against drugs when the U.S. leader, he says, has not apologized for the American atrocities against local Muslims.</s>Duterte says he wants U.S. special forces out of southern Philippines

MANILA, Sept 12 (Reuters) - President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday called for the withdrawal of U.S. special forces troops from a group of islands in the southern Philippines, saying their presence could complicate offensives against Islamist militants notorious for beheading Westerners.

Duterte, who was in the spotlight last week over a televised tirade against the United States and President Barack Obama, said the Americans still in Mindanao were high-value targets for the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf militants as counter-insurgency operations intensify.

"They have to go," Duterte said in a speech during an oath-taking ceremony for new officials. "I do not want a rift with America. But they have to go."

He added: "Americans, they will really kill them, they will try to kidnap them to get ransom."

The comments by Duterte, a former southern mayor known for his terse words and volatile temperament, add to uncertainty about what impact his rise to the presidency this year will have on one of Washington's most important alliances in Asia.

A spokesman for the U.S. State Department, John Kirby, said it was not aware of any official communication by Manila calling for a withdrawal. He said Washington remained committed to the alliance.

Another U.S. official said there were only a "handful" of special forces in the Mindanao acting in limited liaison roles.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest emphasised shared concerns and interests with the Philippines, before taking a thinly veiled swipe at Duterte, appearing to compare him to Donald Trump, the outspoken Republican candidate in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election.

"I think it's an indication of how important elections are," Earnest told a regular news briefing."Elections have consequences. Elections do say a lot about what kind of person is going to represent your country on the international stage.

"And it's why you are going to prize qualities like decorum and temperament and judgment in casting votes in elections, because you know that person is going to represent you on the international stage. That's certainly something that the Filipino people are well aware of."

Obama cancelled a planned meeting with Duterte at last week's ASEAN summit after Duterte appeared to call him a "son of a bitch". The two did eventually meet briefly and on Friday Duterte said he told Obama the remark was not directed against him.

Washington deployed special forces soldiers to Mindanao in 2002 to train and advise Philippine units fighting Abu Sayyaf militants in a program that once involved 1,200 Americans.

It was discontinued in 2015 but a small presence has remained for logistics and technical support.

Washington has since shifted much of its security focus in the Philippines towards the South China Sea, where the two countries have shared concerns about China's territorial claims.

As a counter to China, shortly before Duterte came to office, Washington and Manila enacted the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement giving the United States rotational access to five bases in the Philippines.

Commander Gary Ross, a Pentagon spokesman, said on Monday that it would "consult closely with our Filipino partners to appropriately tailor our assistance to whatever approach the new administration adopts" on counter-terrorism measures. (Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton, David Brunnstrom, Phil Stewart, Ayesha Rascoe, Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Martin Petty and Grant McCool)</s>US says Philippines has not asked it to pull forces

The United States said the Philippine government had not officially communicated President Rodrigo Duterte's demand to pull US military advisers out of the rebellion-torn southern Philippines.

Since 2002, up to 600 US advisers have been deployed in the Mindanao region to train troops battling Muslim extremists but their numbers have been scaled down in recent years.

A week after calling US President Barack Obama a "son of a whore", the incendiary leader said Monday US Special Forces in the region "have to go".

Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay however attempted to downplay Duterte's comments, saying Tuesday they were "in the context of wanting to save the lives of these Americans who might be exposing themselves to unnecessary risk" from militant attacks.

In Washington, the Pentagon and State Department said they had not been officially contacted by Manila about pulling out the remaining advisers, who Yasay said now numbered about 100.

"We will continue to consult closely with our Filipino partners to appropriately tailor our assistance to whatever approach the new administration adopts," Pentagon spokesman Gary Ross said.

State Department spokesman John Kirby also said they were not aware of any official request from the Philippine government.

Yasay, interviewed by Manila's ABS-CBN network, confirmed the allies had not discussed Duterte's demand.

Duterte, 71, has said he is "not a fan" of the United States and on Monday explained his demand by showing pictures of US troops killing Muslims as America took control of its new colony in the early 1900s.

He has said the spat was triggered by State Department criticism of his controversial war on drug crime, which has left about 3,000 people dead since he began his six-year term in July.

Obama has said Duterte must conduct his crime war "the right way", protecting human rights.

Yasay stressed that Duterte's new comments did not signal a shift in policy, and that ties with the US remained strong.

The president only wanted to protect Americans from kidnappings and terrorism as they had become "a very good target", Yasay said.

"There is no shift in so far as our policy is concerned with respect to our close friendship with the Americans."

Yasay, who was heading to Washington for talks, added the Duterte administration would honour existing defence agreements including a 2014 accord giving the US military access to at least five Philippine bases, one of them in Mindanao.

His comments were in sharp contrast to an initial explanation by Duterte spokesman Ernesto Abella, who said the demand "reflects (Duterte's) new direction towards coursing an independent foreign policy.
In response to criticism of his government's extrajudicial killings of 1,800 people since July, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte says that U.S. forces advising the Armed Forces of the Philippines against an Islamic insurgency in Mindanao are doing more harm than good and must leave the country, saying, ”I do not want a rift with America, but they have to go," during a speech in Manila.