By Edith Regalado
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – After repeated tirades against the United States, President Duterte admitted the US has been supplying weaponry to the Philippine government to fight the Maute terrorists in Marawi City.
Duterte added China is also supplying weapons and ammunition.
But the President was also quick to point out there are no new military alliances with other nations even if he has other sources of weapons and ammunition, citing the decades-old defense treaty between the US and the Philippines.
“So I cannot enter into military alliances with other nations because I would be violating the US-RP agreement. We would stay with the Americans. So what are my misgivings? You know I have a duty to perform. As I have said…my duty is to preserve and defend the Filipino nation,” Duterte said.
“We just bought additional firepower. No more bidding. And besides, I have two sources of weaponry and to my credit, let us give where credit is due. The United States helped the Armed Forces in this fight. And China committed and delivered a lot of firearms for us,” he said.
Read the full story at PhilStar