Top Philippine and United States (US) brass are engaged in "continuous talks" to discuss what possible actions can be done ahead of July, when the suspension of the Visiting Forces Agreement's (VFA) termination is set to expire.
Tnus, bared United States Embassy Charge d'Affaires John Law, who despite the predicament said he was "optimistic" about the results of the ongoing discussions.
"After President Duterte's announcement and then later his decision to suspend the termination, both sides have been in continuous talks about how to best move forward. Those talks continue," he told reporters at the closing ceremonies of the 36th "Balikatan" Exercise at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Friday, April 23.
He said those involved with the VFA talks were military and embassy officials from both the Philippines and US.
"I am always optimistic because I think there is value in the Visiting Forces Agreement, there's value in the military partnership between our two countries. I do not want to get ahead of the two sides as they are talking but again I'm always optimistic that we are going to see positive results from that," he added.
As for Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, he is leaving it to the Chief Executive to decide whether to effect the suspension of the VFA or to suspend it for another six months.
"I think it is the call of the President really, being the sole authority for foreign policy," Lorenzana said.
"I cannot second guess what he will do from when the suspension of the termination has come to an end. Nevertheless, the US and the Philippine military continue to talk how we can improve the terms of the VFA," he added.
Signed in 1998 and ratified the following year, the VFA allows the joint military trainings between Filipino and American troops in the Philippines. The VFA led to the establishment of the annual Balikatan Exercise.
However, on Feb. 12, 2020, Duterte ordered the unilateral termination of the VFA following the revocation of the US travel visa of Senator Ronald dela Rosa, a close political ally, allegedly due to the latter's human rights violation when he was still Philippine National Police (PNP) chief.
Duterte suspended the VFA termination for six months starting on June 1, 2020, citing "political and other developments" in the Indo-Pacific region.
When the first suspension lapsed in December 2020, Duterte again ordered on January 2021 a six-month halt to the part's termination.