US tells Philippines: We are still your ally
A senior US diplomat said on Monday that Washington supported Manila’s blossoming ties with Beijing, but he assured the Southeast Asian nation that Washington remained its trusted ally.
Daniel Russel, US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said after meeting with Philippine Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay in Manila that Washington welcomes improved relations between the Philippines and China, although it should not come at the expense of the United States.
“We don’t want countries to have to choose between the US and China,” he said.
Russel’s two-day visit came after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte concluded his first state visit to China, during which he announced his country’s “separation” from the US and growing ties with China. But Duterte clarified that he only meant a more independent foreign policy and not “severance of ties” with the Philippines’ closest friend.
Su Hao, a professor of Asia-Pacific studies at China Foreign Affairs University, said Russel’s comments showed the typical logic of the US that the interests of regional countries should conform to those of Washington.
“This is what Duterte’s predecessor had done, but Duterte has realized that this does not help the Philippines and decided to make an adjustment,” he said.
Xu Liping, a senior Southeast Asian studies researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Washington understands Manila’s willingness to conduct practical cooperation with Beijing.
“However, alliance is the core interest of the US; it will never give it up,” he added.
Duterte was expected to begin a visit to Japan on Tuesday. During the visit, Tokyo might ask Manila to resume close relations with Washington, perhaps using economic aid as a condition, Su said.
THE REMARKS by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during his four-day visit to China, which concluded on Friday, should prompt the United States to reconsider its rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific strategy and its military assertiveness across the world, Beijing News said on Monday:
Unlike Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye, who have paid state visits to the US, Duterte is yet to step on US soil. Instead, his first trip to a country outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations led him to Beijing, where he and his host President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing of a number of cooperative agreements in a variety of areas.
According to a joint statement released on Friday, China and the Philippines will address their disputes in the South China Sea through friendly consultations and negotiations by the sovereign states directly concerned, an approach that Beijing has long upheld and that has kept the region under control before US navy vessels disrupted the normal order.
Without mentioning the South China Sea arbitration case initiated by the former Philippine government against China, the statement sheds light upon the economic, political, diplomatic and military cooperation between the two countries, and their shared belief that a peaceful, stable neighborhood is in the interest of both countries.
Duterte’s trip is expected to earn him stronger support at home and enhance his reputation as a pragmatic leader who cares for people’s livelihood. The down-to-earth cooperative deals disclosed in the statement also show China’s willingness and capability to help its neighbors enjoy the dividends of its growth.
Manila needs independent decision-making, not Washington’s strategic maneuvering, to resuscitate its economy. That is why the Chinese government stressed the principles of non-interference and non-intervention during Duterte’s four-day visit.
The US has a very different foreign policy compared with that of China and the Philippines, and its people enjoy annual average income of at least $50,000, a lot more than that of the latter two. It is thus no surprise the Philippine president complained in Beijing about the difficulties of doing business with the US, and welcomed more investment from China.