The Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has announced his country will move away from the USA and work with China. He made the announcement in a meeting in China's capital city. Mr Duterte also hinted he might get closer to Russia. He said: "Maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world - China, the Philippines and Russia." Duterte said he would end military and economic agreements with the USA. He told the USA: "Your stay in my country was for your own benefit. So it is time to say goodbye, my friend."
Things could now change in the Asia-Pacific region. China will be stronger and the USA will be weaker. Mr Duterte may ask the USA to leave its military bases in the Philippines. This would be a big problem for the USA. A US spokesman said: "That starts to raise questions about our whole approach to the region." This break from the US comes after 65 years of a close partnership between the two countries. The Russian newspaper 'Russia Today' commented on the changing relations. It wrote: "China has just turned a former rival into a regional ally."
