President Rodrigo Duterte's foreign policy is often mischaracterised as a "pivot" to China when it is more accurately a rebalancing of the country's ties with the United States and its other allies, the Philippines' top diplomat has said.

Foreign Secretary Alan Cayetano said Manila's policy on the South China Sea, in particular, is still evolving, amid efforts to seek a correct balance between a principled nationalist stand and more pragmatic objectives.