Philippine president says he won't severe ties with US

Ahead of his China visit, Duterte made a series of pronouncements to curb Philippine security engagements with the U.S., including the removal of American counterterrorism forces in the country's south and his opposition to planned joint patrols with the U.S. Navy in the South China Sea.

[...] White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Friday there had been "too many troubling public statements" by Duterte in recent months leading to uncertainty about his intent.

Republican candidate Donald Trump told a rally in North Carolina that the Philippine shift toward closer relations with China after decades of a pro-U.S. foreign policy showed that "America has grown weak."

Duterte's reaching out to China, which has been locked in longstanding territorial disputes with the Philippines in the South China Sea, and his severe criticisms of the U.S. has come under fire at home.

"The declared shift in foreign policy, casting aside a long-time reliable ally to hastily embrace an aggressive neighbor that vehemently rejects international law, is both unwise and incomprehensible," del Rosario said in a statement.

There was no mention of the arbitration ruling or Duterte's call for China to respect the rights of Filipinos to fish in the disputed Scarborough Shoal, where Beijing's coast guard ships continue to drive them away.