Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday, he’ll consider continuing to acquire weapons and defense equipment from treaty ally - the United States if his military recommends so, despite offers from China and Russia.
Duterte made the remark in a speech in which he again railed at the US with expletives for criticizing his deadly anti-drug crackdown, calling American officials “monkeys” and breaking a promise that he would no longer resort to trash talk.
Duterte, who took office in June, has been antagonistic to US, EU and UN officials who have raised human rights concerns over his brutal crackdown on illegal drug sellers and users and called for an end to extrajudicial killings.
He has used expletives in responding to their criticisms, telling President Barack Obama to “go to hell” in an outburst last month. He has declared his intention to scale back his country’s military engagements with Washington, including ending largescale joint combat exercises and the presence of visiting US forces, while reaching out to expand once-frosty relations with China and Russia.