[SeekAndFind]

The Philippines in recent months made several foreign policy moves against China that analysts said were noteworthy coming from the Duterte government:

• In April, the country's foreign affairs department released a statement that showed solidarity with Vietnam after a Chinese surveillance vessel rammed and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat in the South China Sea;
• The department released another statement in July on the anniversary of an international tribunal ruling that dismissed China's claims of nearly 90% of the South China Sea, and called on Beijing to comply with the verdict.

The Philippines and China have for years clashed over competing claims in the resource-rich waterway where trillions of dollars of global trade pass through annually.

[knarf]

I always thought a relationship with Trump would develop and was surprised when Duterte rejected the USA.

I don't think President Trump has a vindictive bone in his body and would welcome Duterte's APPROACH to friendship.

Duterte probably has too much pride to re-consider ... to the good people of the Philippines' loss.

[buwaya]

Some of the pushback against Duterte is from the military. The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) are not under Dutertes thumb, unlike the police. And the AFP is popular.