The Philippines told the US yesterday it was quitting a pact key to their historical military alliance, triggering a six-month countdown to the deal’s termination.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered his cabinet to give notice to quit the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) after voicing anger over Washington cancelling the visa of the official who led his internationally condemned drug war.

The move also follows Duterte’s repeated, unfulfilled threats to shrink or even sever the nation’s ties with its former colonial master and most important military ally.

The 1998 VFA is the legal framework for the presence of US troops on Philippine soil and is central to hundreds of annual, joint military exercises, which are a major component of their deep military ties.