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Duterte aligns Philippines with China, says U.S. has lost

Ben Blanchard

7 Min Read

BEIJING (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced his “separation” from the United States on Thursday, declaring he had realigned with China as the two agreed to resolve their South China Sea dispute through talks.

Duterte made his comments in Beijing, where he is visiting with at least 200 business people to pave the way for what he calls a new commercial alliance as relations with longtime ally Washington deteriorate.

“In this venue, your honors, in this venue, I announce my separation from the United States,” Duterte told Chinese and Philippine business people, to applause, at a forum in the Great Hall of the People attended by Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli.

“Both in military, not maybe social, but economics also. America has lost.”

Duterte’s efforts to engage China, months after a tribunal in the Hague ruled that Beijing did not have historic rights to the South China Sea in a case brought by the previous administration in Manila, marks a reversal in foreign policy since the 71-year-old former mayor took office on June 30.

Duterte Terminates U.S. Defense Pact, Pleasing Trump but Few Others

Ending the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States is a deeply unpopular move.

By Nick Aspinwall | February 14, 2020, 3:01 PM

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures during a press conference at Malacanang Palace in Manila on Nov. 19, 2019. Ted Aljibe/AFP via Getty Images

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte decided on Tuesday to end a long-standing defense agreement with the United States, signaling a major break in a U.S.-Philippines military alliance that the United States has long seen as essential to countering the rise of China.

The Philippine president officially filed to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which gives U.S. troops a legal basis to be present for bilateral exercises in the country, after he had threatened for weeks to end the 21-year-old agreement. Duterte’s threats began after Ronald dela Rosa, a senator and former police chief who oversaw the Philippines’ deadly drug war at its peak, saw his U.S. visa canceled.

U.S. President Donald Trump shrugged off the move, saying it will “save a lot of money” for the United States. But defense officials and analysts in both countries expressed grave concern the termination would fuel Beijing’s aggressive position in the South China Sea, where it asserts sovereignty over areas claimed by other countries, including the Philippines.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday that ending the defense pact was a “move in the wrong direction,” away from American goals to contain Chinese regional expansionism, while two senior officers in the Armed Forces of the Philippines told Rappler the move is unpopular within the military, with one general calling it “disadvantageous.”

Duterte aligns Philippines with China, says U.S. has lost

Ben Blanchard

7 Min Read

BEIJING (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced his “separation” from the United States on Thursday, declaring he had realigned with China as the two agreed to resolve their South China Sea dispute through talks.

Duterte made his comments in Beijing, where he is visiting with at least 200 business people to pave the way for what he calls a new commercial alliance as relations with longtime ally Washington deteriorate.

“In this venue, your honors, in this venue, I announce my separation from the United States,” Duterte told Chinese and Philippine business people, to applause, at a forum in the Great Hall of the People attended by Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli.

“Both in military, not maybe social, but economics also. America has lost.”

Duterte’s efforts to engage China, months after a tribunal in the Hague ruled that Beijing did not have historic rights to the South China Sea in a case brought by the previous administration in Manila, marks a reversal in foreign policy since the 71-year-old former mayor took office on June 30.

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Duterte Terminates U.S. Defense Pact, Pleasing Trump but Few Others

Ending the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States is a deeply unpopular move.

By Nick Aspinwall | February 14, 2020, 3:01 PM

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures during a press conference at Malacanang Palace in Manila on Nov. 19, 2019. Ted Aljibe/AFP via Getty Images

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte decided on Tuesday to end a long-standing defense agreement with the United States, signaling a major break in a U.S.-Philippines military alliance that the United States has long seen as essential to countering the rise of China.

The Philippine president officially filed to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which gives U.S. troops a legal basis to be present for bilateral exercises in the country, after he had threatened for weeks to end the 21-year-old agreement. Duterte’s threats began after Ronald dela Rosa, a senator and former police chief who oversaw the Philippines’ deadly drug war at its peak, saw his U.S. visa canceled.

U.S. President Donald Trump shrugged off the move, saying it will “save a lot of money” for the United States. But defense officials and analysts in both countries expressed grave concern the termination would fuel Beijing’s aggressive position in the South China Sea, where it asserts sovereignty over areas claimed by other countries, including the Philippines.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday that ending the defense pact was a “move in the wrong direction,” away from American goals to contain Chinese regional expansionism, while two senior officers in the Armed Forces of the Philippines told Rappler the move is unpopular within the military, with one general calling it “disadvantageous.”