PH reaffirms friendship with US

MANILA - Despite President Rodrigo Duterte's string of tirades against the United States (US), the Philippines continues to value the "continued friendship" and "security cooperation" with the most powerful nation, Malacañang said Monday, May 21.

The Philippines' reaffirmation was made after the Philippine delegation, led by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, had a "high-level" discussion with US Pacific Command chief Admiral Harris Jr. in Honolulu, Hawaii last week.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. told reporters that Medialdea and other Philippine officials reassured Harris that the Philippines will not abandon its traditional alliance with the US.

"I can only surmise that the visit (of our Philippine officials in Hawaii) is intended to reassure the United States that while we are pursuing an independent foreign policy, we have not actually abandoned our traditional ally, the United States," Roque said.

"That its probably to reassure that we value the continued friendship, and the security cooperation that we have had with the United States throughout the years," he added.

Duterte has repeatedly blamed the US for its supposed failure to stop China's military build-up in the disputed South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), despite its capability to deter Beijing's domination in the busy waterway.

In a speech delivered in Cebuano on May 19, the President raised concern that the Philippines might not get help from the US, should a war erupt amid the escalating tensions in the South China Sea.

"My lamentation, we are in the West Philippine Sea but we have a problem. We lagged behind the... We are caught in a limbo. We don't have the assurance that America will remain by our side if a war breaks out," he said in Alegria, Cebu.

According to a statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Filipino officials stressed during their meeting with Harris that the Duterte administration's "deliberate and nuanced" diplomatic strategy in the maritime dispute with China had "lowered tensions" in the region and yielded "economic gains for the Philippines." SunStar Philippines