Duterte comments ‘clarified’; trade ties with US will stay
PHILIPPINES: The Philippines will maintain its trade and economic ties with the United States, Trade Minister Ramon Lopez said yesterday, a day after President Rodrigo Duterte announced his ‘‘separation’’ from Washington.
Duterte made his comments in Beijing, where he was paving the way for what he calls a new commercial alliance as relations with longtime ally Washington deteriorate.
‘‘With that, in this venue, your honours, in this venue, I announce my separation from the United States,’’ Duterte told Chinese and Philippine business people to applause at a forum in the Great Hall of the People.
‘‘Both in military, not maybe social, but economics also.’’
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.
Lopez sought Duterte’s comments.
‘‘Let me clarify. The president did not talk about separation,’’ Lopez said in Beijing.
‘‘In terms of economic [ties], we are not stopping trade, investment with America. The president specifically mentioned his desire to strengthen further the ties with China and the Asean region which we have been trading with for centuries.’’
He said the Philippines was ‘‘breaking being too much dependent on one side’’.
‘‘But we definitely won’t stop the trade and investment activities with the West, specifically the US.’’
The US has seen Manila as an important ally in its ‘‘rebalance’’ of resources to Asia in the face of a rising China.
The US Embassy press attache in Manila, Molly Koscina, said Duterte’s statements were creating uncertainty.
‘‘We’ve seen a lot of this sort of troubling rhetoric recently which is inexplicably at odds with the warm relationship that exists between the Filipino and American to explain people and the record of important cooperation between our two governments,’’ she said.
‘‘We have yet to hear from the Philippine government what Duterte’s remarks on ‘separation’ might mean, but it is creating unnecessary uncertainty.’’
She also said the US would honour alliance commitments and treaty obligations with the Philippines.
‘‘And, of course, we expect the Philippines to do the same.’’
US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said Washington intended to keep its alliance commitments to the Philippines.
‘‘Obviously any relationship is one of mutuality and we will continue to discuss that with our Philippine counterparts,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s not new today, but that’s our alliance relationship with the Philippines.’’
Marie Banaag, assistant secretary at the Philippine presidential communications office, urged the public to wait for guidelines before interpreting Duterte’s announcement.
- Reuters