On Friday U.S. President-elect Donald Trump spoke on the telephone with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and invited him to visit the White House next year during a "very engaging, animated" talk, an aide to President Duterte said.
Go, Duterte's longtime aide and better known as "Bong Go", said the Philippine president invited Trump to come to his country next year when it is chair of a series of summits of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In a speech earlier this month, Duterte appeared to have changed his outlook of the Philippines’ long-time security ally when he pointed out “similarities” between him and the incoming U.S. president.
“Ayaw kong makipag-away kasi nandyan na si Trump. I would like to congratulate President Trump. Mabuhay ka!” Duterte said in a speech before the Filipino community in Malaysia.
The phone conversation could signal an improvement of ties between the US and the Philippines, two long-time allies in the Pacific.