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WASHINGTON, Nov. 13-- After a period of animosity between Washington and Manila, the leaders of the United States and the Philippines improved ties on Sunday and Monday. But experts said challenges remain. The meeting "went well, so I would expect them to have a positive relationship," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's trip to the Philippines Sunday and Monday, at the tail end of his much-publicized Asia trip. "The two are tough men who take a strong stance against opponents so they have a similar leadership style," West said of Trump and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. The meetings come around a year after Duterte had a falling out with former U.S. President Barack Obama, after Duterte lobbed a personal insult at the U.S. president, causing Obama to cancel their meeting. Trump said on Monday he had a "great relationship" with Duterte, making little mention of Duterte's war on drugs and alleged extrajudicial killings of drug addicts and dealers, for which Western leaders and rights activists have blasted the Philippines' president. "We had a great relationship," Trump said, trumpeting Duterte's hosting of the meetings, including a gala dinner on Sunday and a number of Philippine cultural performances on Monday. Echoing those thoughts, Duterte Spokesman Harry Roque said "President Trump specifically said he has always been a friend of the Duterte administration, unlike the previous administrations of the United States. He stressed that he can be counted on as a friend of the Duterte administration." | 
