US and Philippine forces have begun their largest annual military exercises under President Rodrigo Duterte, who wanted to scale down America’s military presence and involvement in combat drills as he sought closer ties with China and Russia. Continued engagements and a refocused agenda, rather than the separation of ties, characterize the status of Philippines-U.S. security relations. Notwithstanding the concerns over Duterte’s pronouncement on “crossing the Rubicon,” security cooperation between the two countries remains stable, writes Christian Vicedo for The Diplomat. Meanwhile, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State James Walsh said on Jan. 31 he was “cautiously optimistic” about how the Philippines is ridding itself of illegal drugs and that Washington would support the campaign as long as it was done legally.