(BusinessWorld) President Rodrigo Duterte has restored a military pact with the US on the  deployment of troops for war games, reversing a decision that had caused concern in Washington and Manila.

His decision to keep the visiting forces agreement (VFA) upholds the Philippines’ “strategic core interests,” his spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. said in a statement on Friday. He also cited the clear definition of Philippine-US alliance as one between sovereign equals and the clarity of the US position on its obligations under the MDT Mutual Defense Treaty

The visiting forces agreement provides rules for the rotation of thousands of US troops in and out of the Philippines for war drills. It has become more important as the United States and its allies contend with an increasingly assertive China.

Mr. Duterte last year said he was canceling the pact after the US Embassy caneled the visa of his former police chief now Senator Ronald M. de la Rosa. He had suspended the cancelation several times amid a coronavirus pandemic.

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana said he was unsure why Mr. Duterte had reversed himself, but made the decision after a Thursday meeting with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Manila.

The US EMbassy in Manila said the VFA enabled a broader alliance and strengthened security for both nations, as well as the rules-based order that benefited all nations in the Indo-Pacific.