US focuses on good relations with Philippines despite Duterte

The US administration aims to work closely with the Philippine government despite criticism from the country's president, Rodrigo Duterte, as US State Department spokesman John Kirby said on November 2.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby.

“There are many government agencies in the Philippine cabinet that we have built long-standing relationships with. And they still exist,” Kirby said.

Duterte, he said, "is the leader of his country, and we respect that."

“We intend to maintain good relations with the government, as well as with him himself,” Kirbi said.

On October 31, Reuters reported, citing Senator Ben Cardin's aide, that the US State Department had suspended arms deals with the Philippine government. In response, President Duterte called those behind the decision "monkeys"./.

According to Sputnik