--- description: President Rodrigo Duterte threatened Sunday to end a defense pact with the U.S. in response to criticism of his brutal drug war title: Philippines: Duterte Threatens to End Defense Pact with U.S. image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt569e4299d799dbe3/6988a86c524fc03e75df9b27/gettyimages-611497020.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 # Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Threatens to End Defense Pact with the U.S. ## Video: Rodrigo Duterte 'Regrets' His Remark About President Obama [Watch (HLS stream): Rodrigo Duterte 'Regrets' His Remark About President Obama](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FOGX4t0T.m3u8) (1:55)  _Published 2016-09-06. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte expressed regret Tuesday over his “son of a bitch” remark while referring to President Barack Obama._ by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 3, 2016 9:13 AM CUT  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech at the Davao airport early on Sept. 30, 2016, shortly after arriving from an official visit to Vietnam Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech at the Davao airport early on Sept. 30, 2016, shortly after arriving from an official visit to VietnamManman Dejeto—AFP/Getty Images by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 3, 2016 9:13 AM CUT Following his [foul-mouthed attack on the E.U.](http://time.com/4502332/rodrigo-duterte-eu-profanity-philippines-drugs/ "undefined") and [reference to the Holocaust to explain his bloody war on drugs](http://time.com/4514237/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-adolf-hitler-nazis/ "undefined"), Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned Sunday that he might terminate a defense pact his country signed with Washington in 2014, in response to [concerns voiced by U.S. lawmakers](http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/10/01/1629291/us-mood-hardens-duterte-fuels-outrage "undefined") over his crackdown on narcotics. The threat to end the Phillipines-U.S. Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) came during a speech in Bacolod City, [according](http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/821174/angry-duterte-threatens-to-end-edca "undefined") to the _Philippine Daily Inquirer_. “Better think twice now because I would be asking you \[the U.S.\] to leave the Philippines altogether,” Duterte reportedly said. First signed in 2014, the EDCA gives the U.S. military more access to the Philippines without re-establishing any permanent bases. It was [widely seen](http://time.com/78779/obama-philippines-china/ "undefined") as part of U.S. President Barack Obama’s “pivot to Asia” strategy. **Read More:** [_The Killing Time: Inside Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s War on Drugs_](http://time.com/4462352/rodrigo-duterte-drug-war-drugs-philippines-killing/ "undefined") “If you Americans are angry with me, then I am also angry with you,” Duterte said in the same speech. Duterte’s drug war, which amounts to large scale, state-sanctioned extrajudicial killings, has resulted in over 3,000 deaths since he took office in June. The _Inquirer_ reports that Duterte also reiterated his willingness to build closer relations with the leaders of Russia and China, even though the Philippines has been a historic U.S. ally. “Tomorrow I will be friends with \[Vladimir\] Putin and Xi Jinping,” Duterte declared, in response to what he says were “insults” and “humiliation” from the U.S. \[[_Philippine Daily Inquirer_](http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/821174/angry-duterte-threatens-to-end-edca "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4516231/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-tdefense-agreement-us-edca-drug-war/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4516231/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-tdefense-agreement-us-edca-drug-war/"},"headline":"Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Threatens to End Defense Pact with the U.S.","datePublished":"2016-10-03T09:13:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:57:54.873Z","description":"The move would be in response to heightened criticism of Duterte's drug war from U.S. officials and lawmakers","url":"https://time.com/4516231/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-tdefense-agreement-us-edca-drug-war/","keywords":["Philippines","Rodrigo Duterte"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt569e4299d799dbe3/6988a86c524fc03e75df9b27/gettyimages-611497020.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin Lui","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt569e4299d799dbe3/6988a86c524fc03e75df9b27/gettyimages-611497020.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"PHILIPPINES-POLITICS-RIGHST-DRUGS-CRIME-DUTERTE","caption":"PHILIPPINES-POLITICS-RIGHST-DRUGS-CRIME-DUTERTE","creditText":"Manman Dejeto—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/4516231/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-tdefense-agreement-us-edca-drug-war/","name":"Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Threatens to End Defense Pact with the U.S."}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Rodrigo Duterte 'Regrets' His Remark About President Obama","description":"Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte expressed regret Tuesday over his “son of a bitch” remark while referring to President Barack Obama.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/FOGX4t0T/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-09-06T15:00:30.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FOGX4t0T.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4516231/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-tdefense-agreement-us-edca-drug-war/","duration":"PT1M55S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4516231/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-tdefense-agreement-us-edca-drug-war/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```