One week after Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte caused the biggest diplomatic scandal yet for his relatively new administration, when he called president Obama "son of a bitch" (or "son of a whore" according to an alternative translation), only to backtrack and offer tacit apologies when the US president decided to cancel a previously scheduled meeting between the two leaders, Duterte once again made waves on Monday when he called for the withdrawal of U.S. military from a restive southern island, fearing an American troop presence could complicate offensives against Islamist militants notorious for beheading Westerners.
According to Reuters, Duterte said special forces now training Filipino troops were high-value targets for the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf as counter-insurgency operations intensify.
"These special forces, they have to go," Duterte said in a speech during an oath-taking ceremony for new officials.
"I do not want a rift with America. But they have to go." He added: "Americans, they will really kill them, they will try to kidnap them to get ransom."
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