AMID warnings mainly from the opposition regarding the Philippines’ cordial relationship with China, President Rodrigo Duterte has said Beijing merely wanted to be friends without asking for anything in return from Manila.

In a speech during the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan campaign rally in Malabon City on Tuesday evening, Duterte said he became friends with China because the United States failed to deliver on its promise to provide arms.

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