Pompeo arrived late Thursday and immediately met with President Rodrigo Duterte at an air base. "We're worried that the Chinese are using their power in ways that will deny freedom of navigation in the region and that's important to every country in Asia, and Philippines included," Pompeo told reporters as he flew to Manila from Hanoi. When asked if the U.S. was concerned about China's actions, Pompeo replied "absolutely," adding that Washington has a national security strategy to address the problem. "This is a long-standing, deep relationship between our countries and I hope to go build on that with my counterpart Teodoro Locsin and President Duterte," Pompeo told reporters. Duterte and Pompeo "reaffirmed the longstanding U.S.-Philippines alliance, discussing ways to improve cooperation on regional security and counterterrorism," Pompeo's deputy spokesman, Robert Palladino, said.

Source: Fox News February 28, 2019 15:22 UTC