The Philippines assured the United States on Tuesday it will honour its obligations as a military ally following volleys of profane tirades by unpredictable President Rodrigo Duterte.
After calling US leader Barack Obama a “son of a whore” last week, Duterte said he was “not a fan” of Washington and yesterday called for the small number of US military advisers to leave the southern Philippines.
Today Duterte also said Filipino forces would not participate in future joint patrols with the US in the South China Sea, where Manila claims waters that China insists are part of its territory. But top officials moved to stem the damage, saying that it was business as usual between the Philippines and its powerful ally, whose backing is essential as it jousts with China over the maritime dispute.
“There is no shift in so far as our policy is concerned with respect to our close friendship with the Americans,” Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said on Tuesday. The president’s spokesman also insisted that Duterte’s comments were providing context to the conflict in the south, not a reversal of policy.