US Secretary of State Kerry arrives in Manila | ABS-CBN

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US Secretary of State Kerry arrives in Manila

US Secretary of State Kerry arrives in Manila

ABS-CBN News

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President Rodrigo Duterte and US Secretary of State John Kerry. File/Composite

MANILA – US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Manila Tuesday evening, according to Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Assistant Secretary Charles Jose.

Kerry is set to meet with Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay and President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday.

In a previous statement issued by Mark Toner, deputy State Department spokesperson, Kerry will discuss with Duterte and Yasay a full range of bilateral cooperation with the new administration.

Kerry's trip to Manila on July 26-27 is the last leg of his Asian trip. He came from the ASEAN meetings in Vientiane, Laos.

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Malacañang earlier said that it sees Kerry's visit as an opportunity to enhance ties between the two treaty allies.

The Presidential Communications Office described Duterte's meeting with Kerry as "a bid to strengthen ties anew with the US."

The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) recently invalidated China's expansive claim to the disputed South China Sea.

The US does not take sides in the South China Sea dispute, although it has repeatedly stressed that the rule of law must prevail.

It has also conducted a number freedom of navigation patrols near China's man-made islands in the Spratlys in an attempt to challenge Beijing's maritime claims.

Because of such activities, Beijing has accused Washington of militarizing the region.

Duterte earlier said that his foreign policy will not be too dependent on the dictates of Washington, which has Manila as its oldest treaty alliance.

In one of his press briefings, Duterte said that while the Philippines has a pact with the West, ''I want everybody to know that we will be charting a course of our own."

He also asked outgoing US Ambassador to the Philip Goldberg the question "are you with us or not with us?" in a courtesy call in Davao City last month.

Duterte has also alarmed pro-U.S. observers with his softness towards China.

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