Photo/Illutration Protesters hold a slogan that reads ‘Philippines is ours, China get out!’ as they tried to march towards the House of Representative where Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is set to deliver his final State of the Nation Address in Quezon city, Philippines, on July 26. (AP Photo)

MANILA--Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte reversed his termination of a key defense pact with the United States that allows large-scale combat exercises between U.S. and Philippine forces.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced Duterte’s decision at a joint meeting with reporters Friday with his visiting U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, in Manila.

Another Philippine official earlier told The Associated Press that Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. would hand over a document to Austin about Duterte’s decision to keep the Visiting Forces Agreement in a separate meeting later Friday.

“The president decided to recall or retract the termination letter for the VFA,” Lorenzana said. “We are back on track.”

Austin welcomed Duterte’s decision, which he said would help bolster defense relations between the longtime allies.

Duterte notified the U.S. government in February 2020 year that it intended to abrogate the 1998 agreement, which allows the entry of large numbers of American forces for joint combat training with Philippine troops and sets legal terms for their temporary stay.

The maneuvers involved thousands of American and Philippine military personnel in land, sea and air drills that often included live-fire exercises in pre-pandemic times and sparked China’s concerns when they were held in the periphery of seas Beijing claims as its own.

The pact’s termination would have taken effect after 180 days, but Duterte has repeatedly delayed the effectivity of his decision.

The U.S. military presence in the region has been seen as a counterbalance to China, which has aggressively asserted claims to vast areas of the disputed South China Sea despite a 2016 international arbitration ruling that invalidated their historic basis. China, the Philippines, Vietnam and three other governments have been locked in the territorial standoff for decades.

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