Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday expressed his dislike over the presence of foreign troops in his country, saying the constitution dictates that The Philippines pursue an independent foreign policy.
At the news conference before departing for Tokyo on a three-day visit, President Duterte said his country does not have to "dovetail what the policies of other countries are, especially in the matter of stationing of military troops" in The Philippines, reports Xinhua.
The Philippines has a defense treaty and agreements with the United States and that allow U.S. troops to conduct joint exercises with The Philippines.
In 2014, Manila inked a defense agreement with Washington granting U.S. troops access to Philippine military bases.
Duterte has earlier, during his visit to China, said that he wanted to cut the joint military exercises with the U.S. troops and wanted the U.S. military experts out of Mindanao.
"I want an independent policy that I will not kowtow to anybody," he said.
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