Valdai Club

Sharing the stage with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the prestigious Valdai Discussion Club Forum in early October, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was his usual brash self. He denounced the United States and Europe. The ostensible reason was the West’s opposition to his drug war that has killed thousands of Filipinos. But the audience before him — Russia’s foreign policy elite — was no coincidence.

Duterte’s visit to Russia was the latest move in a fast-blossoming security partnership that’s quietly reshaping Asia’s strategic chessboard — between the Philippines, a traditional American ally, and Russia, Washington’s top adversary. Since Duterte took office in 2016, Russian warships have visited the Philippines six times. Russia in 2017 donated thousands of assault rifles and helmets, nearly a million rounds of ammunition and 20 trucks to the Philippines.

Read more on https://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/why-is-russia-arming-a-long-time-u-s-ally-in-asia/220634/