Duterte says US a close friend, but…

SOCHI – President Duterte has made another impassioned rebuke of the United States, which he accused of backtracking on its defense obligations to the Philippines.

While acknowledging that the US remains a “close friend” and only treaty ally, Duterte said some of its officials and lawmakers appear to use the issue of human rights as excuse to restrict defense assistance to the Philippines. “Is this how friends treat each other?”

Duterte said at the plenary session of the 16th annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club at the Krasnaya Polyana Mountain Resort here Thursday.

“Let me be very clear – I am not against the United States or the West. The US is a close friend of the Philippines – in fact, our only treaty ally,” he said.

“We have deep ties with the American people, forged by shared history and nourished by common values. America certainly can offer so much more (to) the world,” Duterte said.

Duterte shared center stage with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who invited him to the Valdai Forum, along with King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Heydar Oglu Aliyev of Azerbaijan, and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan.

Established in 2004, the Valdai Business Club is an association of leading foreign and Russian experts in several keys spheres including history, political science, economics and international relations. This year’s topic is “The Dawn of the East and the World Political Order.”

While voicing resentment over the US and Western nations’ criticism of his war on drugs, the President stressed he is no enemy of liberalism and freedom.

“Let me stress I am not against liberalism. In politics as in the economy, liberalism, to my mind, creates the best pathways to a just and fair society,” he said.

For a thriving democracy like the Philippines, Duterte said “there is simply no other better alternative to a philosophy that puts premium on the freedom and dignity of the individual.”

“Our issue is not the current global order, but rather the actions of certain actors that violate the very principles that underpin this order,” he explained.

The President reiterated that the Philippines is not asking for special treatment – only fairness – from its partners. “It does not seek exemption from the norms and principles that have kept the peace in our world for decades,” he added.

Duterte has been attacking the policies of the US and some countries in the European Union for attaching conditions – like good human rights record – for the release of loans or grants to the Philippines.

“We have seen them backtrack from defense contracts over baseless apprehensions that we would use arms to violate human rights,” he said.

“Yet, you see the same countries supplying high-end weaponry to parties whose actual human rights record leaves so much to be desired,” Duterte said.

Canada’s example

He cited as example Canada, which set conditions for the procurement of Bell helicopters a few years ago. He said the Philippines had to abandon the deal after Canada reportedly required that the air assets be used only for humanitarian purposes.

“I tried to buy helicopters and I was looking around South Korea and Russia and Israel. They said, ‘No, you cannot buy. You buy from us.’ So Bell helicopter of Canada offered me 10, but with a condition that I cannot use it against my own citizens,” he said.

“But we only seek to protect our Republic from those who wish to tear it apart. We only seek to curb criminality that corrodes the very structure of government,” Duterte said.

“We only seek to build a credible defense against those who might be tempted to violate our territorial integrity,” Duterte added.

He said such restrictions limit his administration’s ability to enforce and protect law and order in the country. “By their acts, they weaken my government’s ability to protect law-abiding citizens from the outlaws,” he said.

“They limit our capacity to stop the vicious cycle of internal conflict and underdevelopment,” the President said.

“They clip our wings, making it more difficult for us to effect meaningful change for our people,” he lamented.

“Now let me ask you this. In what universe is this right, justifiable or fair? Nowhere but in the self-contained bubbles of some societies that had the luxury of developing first,” Duterte said.

“We are tired of the misguided and self-serving crusades of the few. It is time that they are challenged,” he said.

Non-interference

In his speech, Duterte also batted for non-interference in domestic affairs.

“We want unimpeded freedom – guaranteed by our Constitution – to exercise our right to govern ourselves as a people and as we saw it fit. And we want friends and partners to respect our independence to make sovereign decisions just as we respect theirs,” he added.

Duterte stressed the importance of a nation’s independence, noting developing countries like the Philippines face different challenges and problems that would require different sets of solutions.

“The principles of respect for state sovereignty, nonintervention and peaceful resolution of disputes must be upheld at all times, otherwise the order unravels,” he said.

“This is crucial especially now with the rise of new powers and the relative decline of the old,” he added, noting the geopolitical shift “was a challenge to the current global order.”

The President’s statements came on the heels of the resolution passed by the United Nations’ Human Rights Commission supporting Iceland’s call for a probe on the human rights situation in the Philippines under Duterte’s term.

Meanwhile, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the country may have overlooked the importance of Russia and that it was an “oversight of strategic proportions” that the Chief Executive was trying to correct.

Panelo explained that the President discussed Philippine foreign policy being tailor-fit for the United States.

“He added that while he is maintaining the country’s alliance with the US, he opted to embark on an independent foreign policy, having in mind the current geopolitics, by reaching out to all nations that extend their hand of friendship to the Philippines with mutual respect and without preconditions,” Panelo said.

Duterte, in his speech, pointed out that he had sought responsible partnerships and meaningful cooperation to realize his vision of inclusive growth and development in the Philippines.

The Chief Executive likewise touched on the importance of ASEAN centrality and unity in managing the impact of geopolitical rivalry among the greater powers.

Duterte took note of Russia’s “Turn to the East” policy to underscore the latter’s increasing focus on Asia.

“These developments, to the mind of President Duterte, are indicative of the shifting of the global balance of power from West to East, which in turn, would greatly cause a positive impact on the peace, stability and progress in the region,” he said.

Panelo also noted how the President criticized certain powerful countries that impose their rules on other nations.

“He took the opportunity to ask the critics of his war on drugs to investigate first before they condemn his campaign against corruption, criminality and illegal drugs that destroys the very fabric of Philippine society,” Panelo added.

“He reiterated his commitment to pursue what he has started against the enemies of the state no matter what the cost to his life or liberty,” Panelo said, adding that the President ended his speech by wishing everyone world peace.

“The President’s critique moved one from the audience to ask him how he managed the shift of the country’s foreign policy,” he said, explaining Duterte’s usual lengthy answer.