By Argyll Cyrus Geducos
Despite hitting a few bumps in the road, Malacañang on Monday evening assured that the relations between the Philippines and long-time ally United States remain strong.
President Rodrigo Duterte (Credits: Ariel Fernandez | Manila Bulletin File Photo)
This came after US ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim made a courtesy call to President Duterte in Davao City Monday afternoon, March 27.
Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella, in a statement, said the two nations are prepared to go into more discussions to sustain strong relations between the two.
“The President said that PH-US relations at the bilateral level remain strong and there is readiness to discuss more matters of mutual interest with the US,” Abella said.
Abella also said that Kim is quite proud of the cooperation between the two nations' intelligence forces in terms of intelligence and information sharing, training and equipment support.
“H.E. Sung Kim also assured PRRD that the US understands the security concerns of the Philippines and that the US is ready to provide more military equipment, assistance and training,” he said.
According to Abella, both countries also agreed that aside from the mutual interests and shared values, fruitful engagements and discussions are very important in ensuring that both states are “on the same page.”