Filtered By: Topstories
News

US envoy Sung Kim confident about US-PHL ties under Duterte admin


US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim on Tuesday expressed confidence that the state of relationship between the United States and its longstanding ally Philippines will continue to be "mutually beneficial" for both countries.

"I think it's been terrific, I've been here for about a year and three months now, I have enjoyed it tremendously, it's a very busy place and I have learned during the past year and three months that this is really a strong partnership, it's a mutually beneficial relationship for both countries ... America gains from being friends with the Philippines and I believe the Philippines also gains from being partners and allies with the United States," Kim said when asked about the state of relationship between the US and Philippines.

"So I feel very confident about the state of relationship and I believe that going forward, there are great opportunities for us to strengthen our relationship in variety of ways," he added.

The United States has been the Philippines' defense treaty ally for decades even as the latter continue to forge closer ties with China under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Kim, along with officials from the Joint US Military Assistance Group, on Tuesday led the turnover of six ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) worth $13.76 million to the Philippine Air Force.

The UAVs were acquired through the foreign military financing grant program in order to increase the Philippine military's "maritime domain awareness, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and counterterrorism capabilities."

Kim said the transfer of the six ScanEagle UAVs represents the "strong commitment" of the US on enhancing the capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

"Today, we focused on our military partnership, but as you know, the economic relationship between our two countries is also very, very, strong and of course we have culture, sports, academic ties that are also very, very solid so I'm quite optimistic and confident about prospects about our relationship," he said. — RSJ, GMA News

Tags: sungkim
LOADING CONTENT