President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday he had received support from Russia and China when he complained to them about the United States, in another broadside that could test his increasingly fragile alliance with Washington.
Duterte said that during a meeting on the sidelines of a leaders' summit in Laos last month, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had agreed with him when he railed against the United States.
"I met with Medvedev, I am revealing it to you now," Duterte said in a speech. "I told him this is the situation: They are giving me a hard time, they are disrespecting me; they are shameless.
"He said: 'That is really how the Americans are.' He said: 'We will help you.'"
Duterte gave no further details about the nature of his complaints.
His ire toward the United States has intensified since U.S. President Barack Obama said he would raise concerns about Duterte's deadly war on drugs.
The White House canceled a meeting between them in Laos after Duterte had called Obama a "son of a bitch."
Duterte said on Sunday he had raised objections about the United States to China also.
China said the Philippines would not benefit from siding with the United States, according to Duterte. It was not immediately clear which Chinese official he was quoting and when the remark was made.
Duterte has said repeatedly during recent, frequent speeches that he planned to open new alliances with Russia and China, particularly for trade and commerce, as part of his pursuit of an independent foreign policy.
Several commercial and diplomatic sources have confirmed to Reuters that a Philippine business delegation will accompany Duterte on a visit to Beijing from Oct. 19-21.
The administration agreed a deal with Duterte's predecessor granting U.S. forces rotational access to bases in the Philippines and further doubts will be raised about the future of this arrangement.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department said it was "baffled" by Duterte's comments and would seek an explanation when Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, visits Manila this weekend.
"We are going to be seeking an explanation of exactly what the president meant when he talked about separation from the U.S.," said State Department spokesman John Kirby. "It's not clear to us exactly what that means in all its ramifications."
Both the State Department and the White House portrayed Duterte's comments as being at odds with the close, long-standing alliance between the two countries. They said Washington would welcome closer ties between Beijing and Manila, however.
"The U.S.-Philippine alliance is built on a 70-year history, rich people to people ties and a long list of shared security concerns," White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters, noting that the administration has not received any request from Filipino officials to alter bilateral cooperation.
A few hours after Duterte's speech, his top economic policymakers released a statement saying that, while Asian economic integration was "long overdue", that did not mean the Philippines was turning its back on the West.
DOUBTS OVER DEAL
In another swipe at Washington, Duterte said he would review a landmark security deal agreed upon with the United States, arguing it may not be legally binding because no president had signed off on it.
Duterte's remarks show his intent to challenge or test the limits of a historic alliance that U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Thursday called "ironclad."
That came the day after Duterte declared joint U.S.-Philippines war games starting this week would be "the last."
The Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement, signed a few days before Obama visited the Philippines in 2014, allows U.S. troops to build storage facilities for maritime security and humanitarian and disaster response operations.
It also provides broad access to Philippine military bases.
Duterte said the agreement would be reviewed because it was signed by the then Philippine defense secretary and the U.S. ambassador, and not the country's president.
Duterte did not explicitly say that he would try to scrap the deal, but in comments aimed at the United States, he said: "It does not bear the signature of the president of the Republic of the Philippines ...
"Better think twice now, because I would be asking you to leave the Philippines altogether."
In a response, the Pentagon said the United States and Philippines had a long history of working together on security issues and that conversations between Carter and his Philippine counterpart last week in Hawaii had been "positive."
"We will continue to honor our alliance commitments, and we expect the Philippines to do the same," said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook.
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