MANILA - The Russian Navy on Thursday visited the Philippine Navy at its base in Cavite as part of a historic five-day visit in the country.

In a Facebook post, the Philippine fleet said it rendered arrival honors to Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov, chief of staff of the Russian Submarine Forces of the Pacific Fleet.

The Russian Navy is on a 5-day goodwill visit to the Philippines aiming to bolster maritime coordination between Manila and Moscow.

The Navy said the Russian Rear Admiral's visit was "a first in the 80 years existence of the Philippine fleet."

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Among events lined up during the visit were a wreath-laying ceremony at the Rizal Monument and a series of confidence-building activities such as goodwill games, a boodle fight, and a shipboard tour, the Philippine Navy said.

This is the Russian Navy's seventh visit to Manila since 2012. Its last visit was in May 2018.

President Rodrigo Duterte had turned to Russia and China, rivals of the country's closest defense ally the United States, following criticism of his war on drugs by the previous US administration.

In January 2017, he visited a Russian warship that docked in Manila.

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Moscow and Beijing have both offered arms and other military equipment to the Philippines.

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