--- description: The Southeast Asian leader said the Islamic militants in his country would target Westerners title: Philippines' Duterte Calls for Removal of U.S. Troops image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaee935ed66a88991/6988a5a78e06011dc14676b0/gettyimages-603134134.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Philippines' Duterte Calls for Removal of U.S. Troops From His Country by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 13, 2016 6:00 AM CUT  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila on Sept. 12, 2016, cites accounts of U.S. troops who killed Muslims during the U.S.'s occupation of the Philippines in the early-1900s Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila on Sept. 12, 2016, cites accounts of U.S. troops who killed Muslims during the U.S.'s occupation of the Philippines in the early-1900sTed Aljibe—AFP/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 13, 2016 6:00 AM CUT Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte [said ](https://www.yahoo.com/news/duterte-says-wants-u-special-forces-southern-philippines-104831306.html "undefined")Monday that he wants U.S. special forces to leave his country’s Muslim insurgency-ridden South, taking his recent expressions of anti-Americanism another step further. Addressing a swearing-in ceremony for new officials, Duterte said the Islamic militants’ deeming of Westerners as high-value targets made the region unsuitable for them to operate, Reuters reports. “Americans, \[the militants\] will really kill them, they will try to kidnap them to get a ransom,” the 71-year-old President said. “I do not want a rift with America. But they have to go.” U.S. State Department spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. government had received no official demand from the Philippine government for the removal of its troops, which have been assisting the fight against the Islamic State–affiliated [Abu Sayyaf group](http://time.com/4328991/samal-philippines-isis-sulu-davao-abu-sayyaf/ "undefined") since 2002, but have recently dialed down their presence to a “handful” in liaison roles, an official told Reuters. The Philippines is one of the key U.S. allies in Southeast Asia; an [agreement](http://thediplomat.com/2016/03/a-big-deal-us-philippines-agree-first-bases-under-new-defense-pact/ "undefined") signed under Duterte’s predecessor [President Benigno Aquino III](http://time.com/4341715/q-and-a-philippines-president-benigno-aquino-iii/ "undefined") last year expanded the defense cooperation between the two countries. Duterte, however, has made his disdain for the U.S. clear on multiple occasions, mostly over its opposition to his [brutal war on drugs](http://time.com/4462352/rodrigo-duterte-drug-war-drugs-philippines-killing/ "undefined"). Earlier this year, he called the [U.S. ambassador](http://time.com/4446262/philippine-president-rodrigo-duterte-calls-us-ambassador-gay-son-of-whore/ "undefined") to the Philippines a “son of a b-tch,” an insult he appeared to also [direct toward](http://time.com/4483650/obama-duterte-son-of-a-whore-asean/ "undefined") President Barack Obama ahead of the recent ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos. Duterte expressed [“regret”](http://time.com/4479698/duterte-obama-regret-remark/ "undefined") for his “strong comments” that resulted in Obama [canceling](http://time.com/4479352/president-obama-philippines-duterte-meeting-cancel/ "undefined") a planned meeting between the two leaders (although they did meet informally on the sidelines of the event) and later said the insult [wasn’t directed](http://time.com/4485272/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-obama-asean/ "undefined") at his American counterpart. However, Agence France-Presse [quoted him as saying](http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/1084480/duterte-orders-us-troops-out-i-snubbed-obama "undefined") on Monday that he was the one who “skipped” the meeting with Obama. \[[_Reuters_](https://www.yahoo.com/news/duterte-says-wants-u-special-forces-southern-philippines-104831306.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4488847/duterte-us-troops-south-abu-sayyaf-removal-obama/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4488847/duterte-us-troops-south-abu-sayyaf-removal-obama/"},"headline":"Philippines' Duterte Calls for Removal of U.S. Troops From His Country","datePublished":"2016-09-13T06:00:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:33:09.698Z","description":"The Southeast Asian leader said the Islamic militants in his country would target Westerners","url":"https://time.com/4488847/duterte-us-troops-south-abu-sayyaf-removal-obama/","keywords":["Drugs","Obama","war","Philippines","ISIS","Rodrigo Duterte"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaee935ed66a88991/6988a5a78e06011dc14676b0/gettyimages-603134134.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaee935ed66a88991/6988a5a78e06011dc14676b0/gettyimages-603134134.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"PHILIPPINES-US-DIPLOMACY-CRIME-RIGHTS","caption":"PHILIPPINES-US-DIPLOMACY-CRIME-RIGHTS","creditText":"Ted Aljibe—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4488847/duterte-us-troops-south-abu-sayyaf-removal-obama/","name":"Philippines' Duterte Calls for Removal of U.S. Troops From His Country"}}]}] ```