Amid rising tension with US, Philippines' defence minister says military can manage without US aid

The Philippine military can manage without US aid, the defence minister said on Friday, after President Rodrigo Duterte said the United States and the European Union should withdraw their assistance if they were unhappy with his drugs war.

"I think we can live without (that) aid. Our Congress is actually giving us money now for the procurement of equipment. I believe they will give us more if we don't have a source of other funds," Defence Minister Delfin Lorenzana told a foreign correspondents' forum. 

Asked about the ongoing criticism from Manila, US State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States was 'mindful of the rhetoric but we believe that it is at odds with the kind of cooperation that we have right now."

Kirby told a briefing in Washington that US assistance to the Philippines in the fiscal year that began October 1 was $180 million "and we're committed" to delivering that and working on areas of mutual interest. "We remain committed...to our very real commitments from a security perspective to the Philippines," he said. "What we're focused on now are the assistance efforts that are in place and ensuring that they best benefit the Philippine people and are compliant with US laws and regulations."