Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's reinstitution of a military agreement with the United States on the deployment of combat personnel for war exercises is unlikely to infuriate China because the U.S. never considered Duterte's anti-American sentiment as permanent, legal exerts say.

The Visiting Forces Agreement provides the legal structure for the U.S. to conduct joint wargames and operations in the Philippines and plays an important part in the defense accord between the two nations.

"China has always considered the Philippines as in the U.S.' side," Jay L. Batongbacal said in quotes by Business World. Batongbacal is the chief of University of the Philippines Maritime Affairs Institute.

Philippines Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III discussed matters tied to the South China Sea in their meeting Friday, the Philippines defense department stated.

"Let me thank President Duterte for his decision to fully restore the Visiting Forces Agreement," Austin said Friday in a joint press briefing with his Philippine counterpart, Lorenza, the Manila Times reported.

In February 2020, Duterte threatened to terminate the VFA with the U.S. The deal has been extended three times since then, the most recent of which was in June, following months of talks between the two countries.

The Philippines has benefited greatly from its stable relationship with China, with bilateral trade growing and Chinese investment booming, according to Global Times.

Duterte did not curry favor with the Chinese government and put in peril his nation's interests as some local oppositionists claim, the report said.

Meanwhile, Filipinos are divided on whether to consider China as "friend or foe", in the wake of challenges facing the two nations, especially in the West Philippine Sea, according to the Manila Times.

Based on the PUBLiCUS Asia survey of 1,500 respondents drawn from around 100,000 Filipino registered voters, about 53% have held back their judgement in labeling China as a clear friend or foe.

Nearly 11% of Filipinos are sure that China is an "enemy" and 6.5 percent think the country is a "friend" of the Philippines, the survey says.