WASHINGTON – The United States, on the surface at least, appears unruffled by President Duterte’s repeated tirades.

Bristling at US criticism of extrajudicial killings under his war on drugs, Duterte has insulted President Barack Obama, forcing the American leader to cancel a meeting between them.

Duterte has also maligned the US ambassador, called for the withdrawal of US forces from Mindanao and an end to joint patrols with the US Navy in the South China Sea.

“It is hard to do business with a country whose president, every few days now it seems, says things that presumably cause some consternation here,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday at his press briefing.

“What I would say is, broadly speaking, we continue to focus on our relationship with the Philippines – built on shared sacrifices for democracy and human rights, and strong people-to-people and societal ties, and obviously we’d like to see that continue,” Kirby said.

“The bottom line is that the United States has significant security commitments with the Philippines and is committed to meeting those commitments and to furthering this relationship,” he said.

Kirby was commenting on Duterte’s announcement that he is serving notice to the Americans that an upcoming joint military exercise with the US will be the last between the two countries.

A few days ago, Duterte said he was seeking to pursue alliances or partnerships with China and Russia, two potential adversaries of the US.

“They’re a sovereign nation and we’re certainly not going to hold them back from pursuing closer relations with either of those countries,” said State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner.

Kirby and Toner said the US alliance with the Philippines was broad and one of the most enduring and important relationships in the Asia Pacific region.

The US and the Philippines have a Mutual Defense Treaty signed in 1951, which commits both nations to support each other if either is attacked by an external party.

They also have an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which allows US troops and supplies rotational access to Philippine military bases.

Source: www.philstar.com