The luncheon was an opportunity for Secretary Kerry to congratulate President Duterte for his election victory, which he said showed the strength and vibrancy of Filipino democracy.
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“We are going to hear about (Duterte’s) priorities, we’re going to get to know him”, a USA official said ahead of the meeting.
Kerry said he reminded the Duterte administration of the importance of respect for human rights, calling it a part of the “broader agenda” of his Manila visit where law enforcement and trade relations between the long-standing allies were tackled alongside the centerpiece issue of security and unresolved disputes in the South China Sea. As the great Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu stated in “The Art of War”, the greatest generals, those we should admire the most, never have to go to war to achieve their objectives.
On the Philippines’ territorial disputes with China, Duterte said his government would base any negotiations with Beijing on a landmark July 12 ruling by a tribunal in The Hague that invalidated China’s expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea under a 1982 global maritime treaty. The country has had frosty ties with China under Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, who bolstered security ties with the U.S.to deter China’s assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.
During the meeting in Vientiane, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi asked Kerry to lend his support for bilateral talks to restart between Manila and Beijing.
The official said Kerry would also raise US concerns over “an unhappy history” in the Philippines of extra-judicial killings and violence against journalists.
“The President did mention that whatever talks we will engage in will begin with the ruling”.
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However, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter recently announced that U.S. troops and military equipment would be sent on regular rotations in the Philippines and that the two countries had started joint patrols in the South China Sea.
