Philippines'
President Rodrigo Duterte is in China for a four-day trip seen as
confirming his tilt away from Washington and towards Beijing's sphere of
influence (AFP Photo/Wu Hong)
Beijing
(AFP) - Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte declared his
"separation" from longstanding ally the United States in Beijing on
Thursday, as he rebalances his country's diplomacy towards China.
Duterte
is in China for a four-day trip seen as confirming his tilt away from
Washington and towards Beijing's sphere of influence -- and its deep
pockets.
"I announce my separation from the United States," he said to applause at a meeting in the Chinese capital.
"America does not control our lives. Enough bullshit," he added in a rambling speech that flipped between languages.
"How can you be the most powerful industrial country when you owe China and you are not paying it?"
His
comments came after he met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the
Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square, with the two men pledging
to enhance trust and friendship, while playing down a maritime dispute.
Xi
called the two countries "neighbours across the sea" with "no reason
for hostility or confrontation", the official Xinhua news agency said.
Under
Duterte's predecessor Benigno Aquino the two countries were at
loggerheads over the South China Sea -- where Beijing has built a series
of artificial islands -- but since taking office in June the new head
of state has changed course.
In
a statement, the Chinese foreign ministry cited Xi as telling Duterte
their emotional foundation of friendly good neighbourliness was
unchanged, and difficult topics of discussion "could be shelved
temporarily".
Duterte called the meeting "historic", it added.
His visit to Beijing capped a series of recent declarations blasting the US and President Barack Obama.
Addressing
the Filipino community in Beijing Wednesday, the firebrand leader said
the Philippines had gained little from its long alliance with the US,
its former colonial ruler.
He also repeated his denunciation of Obama as a "son of a whore".
China, he said earlier, was "good". "It has never invaded a piece of my country all these generations."
- 'Candid and friendly' -
Duterte
has also suspended joint US-Philippine patrols in the strategically
vital South China Sea, and has threatened an end to joint military
exercises.
The
South China Sea is of intense interest to Washington and it has
repeatedly spoken out on the various territorial disputes between China
and its neighbours over the waters.
Tensions
have risen between the US and China over Washington's so-called "pivot"
to the Asia-Pacific, a move that Beijing says is intended to contain
it.
In 2012, China seized control of Scarborough Shoal, a fishing ground in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
In
a case brought by Aquino, the Philippines won a resounding victory at
an international tribunal earlier this year over Beijing's extensive
territorial maritime claims in the area, infuriating the Asian giant.
But Duterte, who took office in June shortly before the tribunal ruling, has made a point of not flaunting the outcome.
Asked
whether the leaders had discussed the South China Sea, the foreign
ministry's spokesperson Hua Chunying said they had a "candid and
friendly exchange of views on how to resolve relevant disputes".
Their
meeting represented a "return to the right track of dialogue and
consultation" she said, adding China was willing to make "relevant
arrangements" to cooperate on fishery issues.
- 'Full recovery' -
The
meeting between Xi and Duterte marked a "full recovery" of the
"traditional friendship" between the two countries, Chinese vice
minister Liu Zhenmin said, according to a transcript released by the
Philippine president's office.
They
oversaw the signing of 13 bilateral cooperation documents on business,
infrastructure, and agriculture, among other fields, he added.
Beijing
also has offered the Philippines a $9 billion soft loan for development
projects, a statement from the Philippine presidential press office
said.
About
$15 million of the promised loans will be earmarked for drug
rehabilitation programmes amid Duterte's anti-drug campaign, which has
killed thousands of people and raised concern abroad of human rights
violations.
China
will also lift bans on 27 Philippine tropical fruit export companies.
Previous sanctions on fruit were intended to punish Manila for its South
China Sea stance.
2 comments:
Duterte should be equally concerned / alarmed about
the former black 'pope', Adolfo Nicholas Pachon,
being 'assigned' to the Phillipines by the
new black pope, Arturo Sosa Abascal.
What could this possibly mean?
Makes no difference, nothing will ever come of it, although it will be interesting to see what happens later on down the road- He's already let Obama know that he is a 'Son of a Whore'-Duterte isn't stupid, although the U.S MAY try to bring Duterte down,seeing how he has executed alot of the drug lords over there,and the Bush Cartel/Clintons depends on alot of countries for drug smuggling and does have many types of drugs smuggled unknowingly out of that country and others, to get here to the U.S.That, in a nutshell, is how the cabal stays operational, along with blackmail, and murder-
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