The United States said the Philippine government had not officially communicated President Rodrigo Duterte’s demand to pull US military advisers out of southern Philippines.

Since 2002, up to 600 US advisers have been deployed in the Mindanao region to train troops battling extremist rebels but their numbers have been scaled down in recent years.

A week after calling US President Barack Obama a “son of a whore”, the incendiary leader said Monday US Special Forces in the region “have to go”.

Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay however attempted to downplay Duterte’s comments, saying Tuesday they were “in the context of wanting to save the lives of these Americans who might be exposing themselves to unnecessary risk” from militant attacks.

In Washington, the Pentagon and State Department said they had not been officially contacted by Manila about pulling out the remaining advisers.

Yasay, interviewed by Manila’s ABS-CBN network, also confirmed the allies had not discussed Duterte’s demand.

He said only around 100 US advisers were left in the south of the country.

The Pentagon in June also deployed warplanes and about 120 personnel in the northern Philippines for short-term training missions aimed at ensuring the allies’ access to the disputed South China Sea.

Duterte, 71, has said he is “not a fan” of the United States and on Monday explained his demand by showing pictures of US troops killing Muslims as America took control of its new colony in the early 1900s.

Source: AFP