MANILA - The Philippines announced Friday it had officially informed the United States it had suspended South China Sea patrols with its longtime ally, following orders from President Rodrigo Duterte. The guided missile cruiser USS Shiloh is anchored at Subic Bay, a former US naval base in the Philippines, in May 2015, as part of US military patrols in the South China Sea. "They will not be conducted anymoreuntil we clarify if he (Duterte) means what he says," Lorenzana said. So the announcement that the joint patrols had been suspended was the first official confirmation that one of Duterte's anti-US comments had become policy. Lorenzana said none of the other Duterte pronouncements had been officially delivered to the Americans.

Source: Bangkok Post October 07, 2016 08:48 UTC