Duterte has railed against the United States, particularly when Barack Obama was president, for criticising the drug war. - 'Ideological flow' -======================On a state visit to China last year, Duterte announced the Philippines' "separation" from the United States. "I've realigned myself in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world -- China, Philippines and Russia. And of late, I see a lot of these Western nations bullying small nations," Duterte told Putin then. The Philippines and Russia established diplomatic ties 41 years ago but, until Duterte took office, relations remained relatively low key.

Source: The Nation Bangkok May 22, 2017 04:07 UTC