Philippines says to keep US ‘relations’

‘Won’t be subservient’

MANILA, Oct 23, (Agencies): The United States remains the “closest friend” of the Philippines but Manila wants to break away from a “mindset of dependency and subservience” and forge closer ties with other nations, the Philippine foreign minister said on Saturday. The comments by Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay came two days after President Rodrigo Duterte announced his “separation” from Washington, though he went on to strike a more conciliatory tone on Friday.

Yasay said in a Facebook posting that Duterte had “unmistakably” stated that severing ties with Washington was not in the nation’s interest.

However, he wrote that separation “implies breaking away from the debilitating mindset of dependency and subservience — economically and militarily — that have perpetuated our ‘little brown brother’ image to America, which has stunted our growth and advancement.”

Duterte

Visit

He said Duterte had told Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders during a visit to Beijing that “if they are not willing to lend their support ... the Filipinos will chart their destiny alone, despite great odds.” Yasay’s posting is the latest sign of an administration once again scrambling to put out fires after Duterte’s stunning declarations, which if delivered upon could upset the geopolitical balance in a region where China and the United States are vying aggressively for influence.

On Friday, Duterte’s economic managers were quick to clarify the Philippines was not cutting economies and trade ties with the United States.

Prior to Duterte taking office in late June, China was a bitter rival of the Philippines, and Manila was one of Washington’s most dependable Asian allies.

Duterte’s efforts to engage China, months after a tribunal in the Hague ruled that Beijing did not have historic rights to the South China Sea in a case brought by the previous administration in Manila, marks a reversal in foreign policy since the 71-year-old former mayor took office on June 30.

“It is not severance of ties. When you say severance of ties, you cut diplomatic relations. I cannot do that,” Duterte told reporters at a midnight news conference in his southern home city of Davao after he arrived from his four-day trip to Beijing.

Duterte’s abrupt pivot from Washington to Beijing is unlikely to be universally popular at home, however. On Tuesday, an opinion poll showed Filipinos still trust the United States far more than China.

Duterte said Sunday that Filipino fishermen may be able to return to the Chinese-held Scarborough Shoal in a few days after he discussed the territorial rift with Chinese leaders, but he did not provide details, including whether China imposed conditions.

Talks

Duterte said that in talks during his trip to Beijing this past week, he insisted that the shoal off his country’s northwestern coast belonged to the Philippines, but added that the Chinese also asserted their claim of ownership. If Filipinos could sail back to Scarborough, a traditional fishing ground and storm shelter, Duterte said they would be prohibited from fishing inside a sprawling lagoon that is a fish spawning ground that should be protected.

“We’ll just wait for a few more days. We may be able to return to Scarborough Shoal, the fishing by our countrymen,” Duterte said in a speech in the northern city of Tuguegarao, where he visited after the region was lashed by a super typhoon.

Considering the delicate role of Scarborough’s shallow lagoon, which is a spawning area for tuna and other fish, “I myself said that if we’re able to sail back to Scarborough Shoal as its owner — and they insist they are also the owner — I myself will say, ‘Don’t fish there,’” Duterte said.