Duterte: No defense talks with foreign envoys

DAVAO CITY – President-elect Rodrigo Duterte said that so far there have been no talks about defense issues in his meetings with foreign ambassadors who visited him here after the May 9 elections.

“I am not into talks about military or defense cooperation with anyone. So nothing of that sort was discussed,” Duterte said when asked about what he tackled with the foreign envoys.

He said that aside from trade, education, agriculture and infrastructure, there were other fields of mutual cooperation that he discussed with the envoys.

Among the first to visit Duterte were Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua, Israel Ambassador Effie Ben Matityau and Japan’s Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa.

Duterte also met Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev and South Korean Ambassador Kim Jae-shin.

US President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have called Duterte congratulating him for winning in the recent elections.

“We hope under his leadership, the Philippines will continue to develop further and further. We want to expand our bilateral relations. Both countries will cooperate in a mutually beneficial way,” Kim told reporters after meeting Duterte last Thursday.

Kim said the Korean government is willing to help Duterte achieve his anti-crime plan by donating police equipment.

“We will provide equipment like patrol cars and motorbikes worth $6.6 million. This is a donation,” said the Korean official. “The priority is to stamp out crime and drugs. The Korean government fully supports and will cooperate.”

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