President Rodrigo Duterte cancels US arms purchase deal

On Monday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the cancellation of a deal to buy weapons from the United States.

He announced that the Philippine government will seek lower prices, - as reported by Reuters. "We are simply forced to find other suppliers, with cheaper prices and possibly reliable ones," - Mr. Duterte said in a televised message. Relations between the United States and the Philippines are strained after the resonance of harsh statements made by new President Rodrigo Duterte aimed at the United States. Meanwhile, Washington said it remains focused on the goal of close cooperation with the Philippine government.

Earlier, Reuters reported, citing an aide to Senator Ben Cardin, that the US State Department had suspended the implementation of the arms supply contract to the Philippine government. In response, Mr. Duterte called the person behind this decision a "gorilla". International public opinion has been closely following the campaign that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has implemented to fight the drug trade, in which he encourages police officers to be allowed to kill armed drug criminals in raids and special operations. According to data from national media, in just the first three months of Mr. Duterte's rule in the Philippines, more than 2,000 drug traffickers have been killed.

According to Sputnik