Duterte’s push to break with U.S. alarms Filipinos
Deep, decades-long ties to U.S. make total separation unlikely.
President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, who nurses a longtime grudge against the United States, has declared he wants “a separation” and on Wednesday added that he wants American troops out of his country in two years.
Speaking in Tokyo, Duterte said that he was willing to revoke the 2014 agreement letting the Pentagon use five Philippine military bases, a critical component of the Obama administration’s plan to bolster U.S. influence in Asia.
“I want them out,” he said of the U.S. troops in his country.
While his threats have tapped a deep strain of resentment among Filipinos who feel as if they are treated like a second-class ally, the country’s deep cultural, economic and military ties to the United States make it unlikely that they will follow him on the path to divorce.
Especially not, as Duterte suggested in Beijing last week, all the way to China.
“Practically every family here has a relative in the U.S.,” said Roilo Golez, who served as national security adviser to former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. “They don’t dream of going to China and living there.”
The close relationship between Philippines and the United States, while complicated and at times acrimonious, has existed for more than a century, and the Philippines has been the closest U.S. ally in the region for 70 years.
Duterte’s vow to upend that kinship has frustrated even some of his supporters.
“I voted for him, but I’m not sure what he is doing right now,” said Jess Custodio, 56, a bank executive in Manila. “It is baffling to me. It would tear out the heart of many Filipinos to separate.”
The bonds with the United States run wide and deep. About 4 million Filipinos and Filipino-Americans live in the United States, and the money they send home to relatives is a mainstay of the Philippine economy.
Another major sector of the economy — call centers, largely serving U.S. companies — employs more than 1 million Filipinos. Partly because of the high level of English spoken in the Philippines, the industry is one of the fastest-growing segments.
American movies, music, fashion and consumer goods are popular here. Shopping malls are packed with American-brand clothes, cosmetics, appliances, foods and other products.
More Filipinos hold a favorable view of the United States than even Americans do, 92 percent compared with 82 percent, according to a 2015 survey by the Pew Research Center.
Whenever the Philippines has been included by Pew in surveys dating back to 1999, more Filipinos have had a favorable view of the United States than people in any other country.
That support extends to the military, where there is considerable backing for the partnership with the United States, especially the assistance that U.S. forces have provided in combating extremists in the southern Philippines. Many Filipino military officers were trained in the United States, and the two nations have staged joint military exercises for decades.
“President Duterte risks creating a lethal combination of adversaries if he moves to truncate the alliance with the United States,” said Ernest Z. Bower, the president of the consulting firm BowerGroupAsia. “He would alienate his military, which wants the help of the U.S.”
The talk of separation has also caused anxiety among some foreign businesses, which may become more cautious in investing or expanding operations here, analysts said.
Duterte seems aware of the risks. Perhaps out of concern for the need for military support, he has made numerous speeches at military bases around the country since taking office in June.
And after he returned from Beijing last week, he sought to soften his call for separation. He did not mean cutting diplomatic relations, he explained, which would not be feasible.