Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said the country’s joint military drills with the United States next week will be its last, AP reported. However, he said that the Philippines will continue to honour its 1951 defence treaty with Washington, making the alliance one of Asia’s oldest.

Duterte said the upcoming drills will take place because he did not want to embarrass his defence secretary. He added that he wanted to establish closer ties with China and Russia, and Beijing did not approve of the joint exercises held with the US. However, US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said the country had not received any official notification on ending the drills, Reuters reported. “Our focus is on the relationship today and moving it forward,” Kirby said.

Philippines Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said Duterte’s remarks had been misunderstood and taken out of context. Duterte meant to say that the Philippines won’t hold drills beyond its territorial waters, Yasay said.

The country’s relationship with Washington has come under increasing strain since Duterte took office. Earlier this month, he warned his US counterpart, Barack Obama, not to challenge him over the alleged “extrajudicial killings” of drug dealers and called him a “son of a bitch”. “I am no American puppet,” Duterte had said.