Obama visits US, PHL troops at Fort Bonifacio. US President Barack Obama speaks to Filipino and American troops at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City on Tuesday, April 29. Obama said a new military pact signed with the Philippines on Monday granting a larger presence for US forces would bolster the country’s maritime security, but was not aimed at countering China’s growing military might. Danny Pata
Obama and his entourage were expected to leave the country at 12:05 pm, but the US President eventually left at 11:29 a.m.
Obama, who flew into the country Monday for a two-day state visit, left the country on board Air Force One. The US President will make a stop at Anchorage, Alaska to refuel, before eventually making his way to Washington, DC.
In Alaska, Obama will land at Elmendorf Air Force Base before making the journey back to the White House.
Prior to his departure Tuesday, Obama spoke before US and Philippine troops in Fort Bonifacio, reiterating a commitment to defend the Philippines in the face of any attack.
“Our commitment to defend the Philippines is iron-clad,” Obama told Philippine and US troops in Fort Bonifacio Monday morning, as a multiethnic backdrop of camouflaged soldiers stood behind him on stage.
President Obama, however, did not make mention of China.
US officials have long been non-committal about the US response to any Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. Obama himself said at a press conference with President Benigno Aquino III on Monday that the US does not take sides in disputes over territory in Asia’s cauldron of tensions, and did not cite any instances where the US would take up arms to defend the Philippines.
In Fort Bonifacio, Obama added that international law must be upheld and that territorial disputes should be resolved peacefully and not by intimidation and force.
