US says ties with Philippines ‘unbreakable’ as China flaunts military mightMANILA, Philippines — The United States on Saturday assured its traditional treaty ally, the Philippines, that their decades’ long ties is "unbreakable," just days after China conducted a naval muscle flexing in the disputed South China Sea. The Roosevelt docked in the capital after China, in an apparent display of military might, held massive air and naval drills in the contested sea. The Philippines claims parts of the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone and calls it the West Philippine Sea. Ties between the Philippines and China have significantly improved under President Rodrigo Duterte, who has set aside a ruling from a UN-backed tribunal that invalidated Beijing’s claim to sovereignty over most of the resource-rich waters. The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group will continue on their regularly scheduled Western Pacific deployment after departing Manila.

Source: Philippine Star April 14, 2018 07:19 UTC