So it’s a bit weird the country’s new president, Rodrigo Duterte, wants to kick US special forces out of his country.
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That tension, following US concern about a bloody Philippine campaign against drugs, has created some speculation that Duterte’s resentment about what he sees as colonial-era American interference, plus the prospect of luring big-ticket Chinese investment, could nudge Manila closer to Beijing.
Duterte’s spokesperson Ernesto Abella added that Duterte did not tolerate extrajudicial killings but that “human rights can not be used as an excuse to let the spread of drugs in the country run rampant”. But Duterte’s also signaled he might welcome closer ties with China.
But it was his comments on South China Sea security patrols with the USA, a longtime treaty ally, that drew the most attention.
But since coming to power on June 30, Mr. Duterte has indicated he wants to distance the Philippines from the US, a stance that threatens to alter the Asia-Pacific region’s strategic balance.
The Philippines, a onetime USA colony, is a close ally of the United States.
But the president later clarified that the Philippines was not cutting military ties with the USA, with which it has shared a defence treaty since 1951.
The Philippines, he added, would not be cutting its military alliances, but he stressed that the country would follow an independent foreign policy.
Mr Yasay attempted to downplay Mr Duterte’s comments, saying that the President’s remarks on Monday were made “in the context of wanting to save the lives of these Americans who might be exposing themselves to unnecessary risk” from militant attacks.
“We do not go into a patrol or join any other army from now because I do not want trouble”, Duterte said.
“I do not want a rift with America, but they have to go”, Duterte told the media in Manila.
He said he wants the country’s territorial waters, up to 12 nautical miles offshore, to be patrolled by Filipino forces, but not other offshore areas that are contested with any other nation, including China.
Zachary Abuza, a Southeast Asian security expert at the National War College in the United States, said Duterte’s actions toward the U.S. were worrying in light of militant activity in Mindanao.
Duterte’s first attendance to an worldwide meeting since he assumed the presidency on June 30 was hounded by controversy.
Since he took office in July, some 3,000 people have been murdered.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday he won’t allow government forces to conduct joint patrols of disputed waters near the South China Sea with foreign powers, apparently scrapping a deal his predecessor reached with the USA military earlier this year.
State Department Spokesman John Kirby also said they were not aware of any official request from the Philippine government.
No one argues with Duterte when he said “we will observe and must insist on the time-honored principles of sovereignty, sovereign equality, non-interference and the commitment to peaceful settlements of disputes that will serve our people and protect the interests of our country”.
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The US had permanent bases in the Philippines until 1992, but was forced to withdraw after the Senate in Manila voted against renewing a treaty allowing US troops to stay in the country.
