DUTERTE VOWS TO ‘CROSS RUBICON’ IN TRADE TALKS

MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday he has decided to “cross the Rubicon” in his ties with the United States and will open trade alliances and offer long-term land leases to “the other side of the ideological barrier,” China and Russia.

He told reporters he was “not really” breaking ties with the U.S., but will open all areas of trade and commerce to China and Russia. It would not include military alliances, he said. Duterte has had an uneasy relationship with the U.S., which has criticized his crackdown on illegal drugs in which more than 3,000 people have died.

During a summit of East Asian leaders in Laos earlier this month, Duterte said he told Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that he was “about to cross the Rubicon” with the United States. Asked by a reporter what he meant, he said it was “a point of no return.”