Philippines delays scrapping of US visiting forces agreement
CNN
The Philippines has again suspended a decision to scrap a crucial agreement governing the US troop presence in the country, its foreign minister said on Monday, amid continuing maritime pressure from China.
The Pentagon welcomed the announcement from Manila -- the third suspension of the decision covering the two-decade-old Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that had been due to expire in August -- but analysts said there would be disappointment in both countries that it was not renewed. Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin said the suspension would be for a further six months while President Rodrigo Duterte "studies, and both sides further address his concerns regarding, particular aspects of the agreement."President Joe Biden on Sunday delivers his first commencement address of the 2024 season at Morehouse College, where the president may for the first time in months have to confront the angst that’s been percolating on college campuses nationwide toward his administration’s policies on the Israel-Hamas war.
Arab and Palestinian Americans left a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday night frustrated they did not have a clear understanding of how the Biden administration might act upon their concerns as the Israel-Hamas war devastates the civilian population in Gaza, participants told CNN.