RUSSIA TO BROADEN PH SUPPORT SYSTEM, SAYS PALACE

The Philippines has broken away from the idea that it could only rely on one particular country to help in its security, Malacañang said yesterday following President Duterte’s call for Russia to be the country’s ally and protector.

Mr. Duterte also said on Friday that he hoped the Russian Navy could come back more often to the Philippines, as he toured one of its warships that had docked in Manila for a goodwill visit.

“What we’re saying is there has been, in a sense, a break from our mentality that our source of security comes only from one particular country,” the President’s spokesperson Ernesto Abella said over staterun Radyo ng Bayan yesterday.

The sources of support for the country have “broadened and widened,” he added.

It’s not just Russia which the Philippines could be expected to rely on, but also the country’s neighbors, he further said.

“What our President is say- ing is we are beginning to recognize, we are removing the demonization of that particular country. We are beginning to recognize that our borders are not necessarily limited or confined to simply one country or one geopolitical force,” he said.

He did not say which country had been demonized, but the Philippines’ relationship with China had been tense in the past because of the maritime dispute in the South China Sea.

But Mr. Duterte has been forging closer ties with China, and hopes to establish a stronger economic partnership with it.

All these come amid uncertainty over the ties between the Philippines and the United States, the country’s long-term mutual defense partner which also happens to be Russia’s rival.

Mr. Duterte had issued hostile statements against the United States after it expressed concern over the extrajudicial killings that had marked his antidrug war, and recently threatened to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement between the two countries.

Meanwhile, a political ana- lyst sees “all pluses” in improved ties between the Philippines and Russia, and said the country could benefit from Moscow’s expertise in different fields.

Clarita Carlos, who used to be the president of the National Defense College of the Philippines, also warned against raising the bogeyman of communism or socialism as Russia becomes more visible in the Southeast Asian region.

“We should welcome this, any and all relations that would be good for us,” Carlos said in a phone interview on Friday.

Stronger ties between Manila and Moscow could also help prevent any one country from becoming too dominant in the region, she said.

Russia happens to be a close ally of China, which is claiming nearly the whole of the South China Sea. The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also have competing claims in the area.

“If you have strong Russia-Philippine relations, it will dilute or diminish the threat of anyone being a hegemon,” Carlos said.