The Philippine Foreign Office sent a notice to the US about the termination of the military treaty, Reuters reported.

“It’s about time we rely on ourselves, we will strengthen our own defenses and not rely on any other country,” Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo told a regular briefing, quoting the president.

The deal will become void 180 days after Washington receives the notice. The deals were signed in 1998 and established the rules for the entry and stay of the US military in the Philippines.