US, Philippines launch joint military exercise
Deutsche Welle reports that “Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte hinted on Tuesday that he could warm to continued close relations with the United States when Donald Trump moves into the Oval Office.
“The often expletive-prone Duterte, who branded the outgoing US President Barack Obama a ‘son of a whore’ for condemning his deadly anti-drugs crackdown, gave upbeat remarks about the President-elect, congratulating him on a ‘well-deserved victory.'”
“His comments coincided with reports on Wednesday that Filipino and US troops were holding joint, albeit scaled-down, military exercises, despite the Philippine President vowing last month to reassess relations between the two countries.”