Philippine president announces separation from US

BEIJING — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced that his country is separating from the U.S. in a speech before a Beijing economic forum on Thursday, after handing China a major diplomatic victory, agreeing to resume dialogue on their South China Sea territorial dispute following 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 his antipathy for America and ordered an end to joint maneuvers between their militaries.

In Washington, 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.”

Separately, the Philippines Presidential Communications Office said Xi committed more than $9 billion in low-interest loans to the country, with about a third of the loan offer coming from private banks.

Xi, who greeted Duterte with full military honors at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of the ceremonial legislature in the heart of Beijing, said the meeting had “milestone significance.”