MANILA, Philippines – A protester in the Philippines disrupted a public forum on Wednesday with Hillary Clinton to urge the end of a military pact, but the US Secretary of State said she was unfazed.
Militants block and throw paint bomb at the convoy of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Manila on Wednesday. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA/INQUIRER
At a largely friendly public meeting broadcast on national television, a demonstrator suddenly stood up with a banner and repeatedly shouted, “Drop VFA!” before event staff escorted the protester out.
The protester was referring to the Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows for rights of US troops when they visit the Philippines.
The pact has been controversial in the Philippines after alleged crimes by US troops in the former colony, as well as opposition among some groups for any American soldiers to be in their country.
Clinton brushed off the protest and said that it was a sign that “people are unafraid to express themselves” in the Philippines.
“I’m pretty much used to it after all these years,” she said.
Clinton was on a visit to the Philippines aimed at shoring up military co-operation amid high tension between Manila and Beijing over a territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea.
At the forum, Clinton stressed that the United States had no intention of stationing troops again in the Philippines.