For five years, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to terminate the agreement that allows U.S. troops a presence in the Philippines. But senior Philippine officials have privately told U.S. diplomats that the government in Manila does not really wish to renegotiate the deal that helps underpin the U.S. troop presence there, a potential break for the Biden administration with a key ally in its drive to counter China, especially in the Western Pacific.
