Philippine president announces separation from US

BEIJING (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced that his country is separating from the U.S. in a speech before a Beijing economic forum on today, after handing China a major diplomatic victory, agreeing to resume dialogue on their South China Sea territorial dispute after months of acrimony.

The rapprochement between the two Asia nations could widen a political rift between the United States and the Philippines, whose recently elected leader has made no secret of its antipathy for America and ordered an end to joint maneuvers between their millitaries.

"Your honors, in this venue, I announce my separation from the United States ... both in military and economics also," Duterte said. His remarks were met with applause, but Duterte was not more specific.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Duterte's remarks were "inexplicably at odds with the very close relationship we have with the Filipino people as well as the government there on many different levels, not just from a security perspective."

After talks in Beijing between Duterte and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, a senior Chinese diplomat announced the sides had agreed to restore the full range of contacts, although he said the leaders touched only briefly on the South China Sea.