Secretary, to plan for future exercises under the VFA.” “The VFA is in full force again, there is no termination letter that is pending,” he added. However, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana let slip last week that the agreement was no longer in danger. The decision came amid a visit by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who is touring several Southeast Asian nations in an attempt to shore up US defense ties in the region. After months of vacillation on the future of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), Phillipine President Rodrigo Duterte has renewed the agreement that allows US troops to remain in the country.
