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| President Rodrigo Duterte |
MANILA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has accused the United States of building "depots" in the Philippines to store live ammunition, warning that he would abrogate a bilateral treaty if Washington is indeed building permanent structures on Philippine soil.
"Here is my worry. They (The Americans) are making depots, they are unloading arms in the Philippines now, in Palawan, Cagayan de Oro and Pampanga," he told a news conference in the presidential palace after midnight Sunday.
"I am serving notice to the Armed Forces of the U.S.: Do not do it. I will not allow it," Duterte said, citing a provision in the Visiting Forces Agreement signed by both countries that no permanent facilities should be built on the Philippine territory.
He said "a depot by any other name is a depot ... It is prohibited under the law. It's not allowed by the treaty," he said.
Duterte said building a depot and stoking them with live ammunition is dangerous to the Philippines and its people, describing it as a magnet for attack.
"I won't allow that. You place us all in danger," he said, vowing to stop the construction.
Read the full story at Xinhua