Philippine and US Marines take part in a beach assault exercise facing the South China Sea. AFPSecurity issues in the disputed South China Sea helped convince the Philippines to delay quitting a key US military pact, the nation's envoy to Washington said yesterday. Since taking power in 2016 Duterte has moved closer to Beijing, but has faced pushback from the public and military that is wary of its territorial ambitions in the South China Sea. "This is not the time to initiate an ugly divorce, especially when China is spreading its tentacles everywhere," he said. The 1998 pact is key to the US-Philippines' broader decades-old military alliance and underpins joint military activities, speedy disaster aid and anti-terror efforts.

Source: The Standard June 03, 2020 19:15 UTC