Duterte eyes arms deal on visit to Israel

RODRIGO DUTERTE, the president of the Philippines, left for a visit to Israel and Jordan yesterday as his nation pivots away from a reliance on American military hardware and support.

The four-day trip to Israel will be the first by a Philippine leader in more than 60 years of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

Mr Duterte will sit down with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and hold an event with some of the thousands of Filipino migrant workers in Israel.

The president has become notorious for controversial statements – including likening himself to Hitler – and his drug crackdown that has killed thousands.

Mr Duterte has led the Philippines away from the US, its former colonial master, and towards closer ties with China and Russia.

The US and Canada have both seen military hardware deals fall apart with the Philippines due to concerns over

‘The visit is for Duterte to look for an alternative market for weapons’

Mr Duterte’s drug war. But so far sales with Israel have gone smoothly. “[The visit)] is for President Duterte to look for an alternative market for … weapons for our armed forces as well as for the police,” Henelito Sevilla, an international relations expert at the University of the Philippines, told AFP.