President Rodrigo Duterte is mum about the details of his meeting with United States Ambassador Sung Kim days after he rejected the offer of Washington to provide F-16 fighter jets and attack helicopters needed by the Philippine military. I hate to break the rules,” Duterte told reporters in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo In Quezon City. “Our alliance remains strong and ironclad,” the envoy said. READ: PH-US alliance remains ‘strong, ironclad’ under Duterte–US envoyThe relationship between the Philippines and US had been strained after Washington’s criticisms of Duterte’s brutal war against illegal drugs angered the Philippine leader. But Manila’s alliance with Washington improved after US President Donald Trump, whom Duterte described as a “good friend,” won the elections in 2017.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer September 13, 2018 11:26 UTC