Meeting with Pacific Command chief meant to assure US of PHL’s friendship —Palace

The meeting between senior officials of the Duterte administration and the commander of the US Pacific Command was meant to reassure the superpower that the Philippines remained a treaty ally despite its warmer ties with China, Malacañang said on Monday.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea led the Filipino delegation which met US Admiral Harry Harris Jr., chief of the US Pacific Command (Pacom), in Honolulu on Friday.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the two sides discussed the South China Sea dispute and other issues.

"The visit is intended to reassure the United States that while we are pursuing an independent foreign policy, we have not abandoned our traditional ally the United States," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said on Monday.

"It's probably to reassure that we value the continued friendship and security cooperation that we have had with the United States throughout the years," he added.

Since he assumed office in 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte has been cozying up to China while launching a series of tirades against the US. He once threatened to sever ties with the US and end joint military training for its criticisms of his war on drugs.

The tough-talking president also blamed the US for not confronting China's excessive claims and buildup of military facilities on the artificial islands in the South China Sea even as he appeared to have a friendly relationship with US President Donald Trump.

In a statement on Sunday, the DFA said the Philippine officials explained the "deliberate and nuanced diplomacy" by the Duterte administration "had lowered tensions in the region" and resulted in "clear economic gains for the Philippines."

The DFA mentioned access to marine resources, protection of the marine ecology, and the potential to explore oil and gas resources.

"The Philippine delegation had a very substantive exchange with Admiral Harris on regional challenges and both sides agreed that the alliance remains consequential to the preservation of regional stability and development," it added.

The meeting came on the same day China deployed long-range bombers on an island in the disputed waterway, a development the US Department of Defense said "only serves to raise tensions and destabilize the region."

Apart from Medialdea, also present at the meeting were Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Interior and Local Government officer-in-charge Eduardo Año, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez and Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Teodoro Locsin Jr. —NB, GMA News