Philippines
President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday he had received support from Russia
and China when he complained to them about the United States, in another
broadside that could test his increasingly fragile alliance with Washington.
Duterte
said that during a meeting on the sidelines of a leaders' summit in Laos last
month, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had agreed with him when he
railed against the United States.
"I
met with Medvedev, I am revealing it to you now," Duterte said in a
speech. "I told him this is the situation: They are giving me a hard time,
they are disrespecting me; they are shameless.
"He
said: 'That is really how the Americans are.' He said: 'We will help you.'"
Duterte
gave no further details about the nature of his complaints.
His ire
toward the United States has intensified since U.S. President Barack Obama said
he would raise concerns about Duterte's deadly war on drugs.
The
White House canceled a meeting between them in Laos after Duterte had called
Obama a "son of a bitch."
Duterte
said on Sunday he had raised objections about the United States to China also.
China
said the Philippines would not benefit from siding with the United States,
according to Duterte. It was not immediately clear which Chinese official he
was quoting and when the remark was made.
Duterte
has said repeatedly during recent, frequent speeches that he planned to open
new alliances with Russia and China, particularly for trade and commerce, as
part of his pursuit of an independent foreign policy.
Several
commercial and diplomatic sources have confirmed to Reuters that a Philippine
business delegation will accompany Duterte on a visit to Beijing from Oct.
19-21.
DOUBTS
OVER DEAL
In
another swipe at Washington, Duterte said he would review a landmark security
deal agreed upon with the United States, arguing it may not be legally binding
because no president had signed off on it.
Duterte's
remarks show his intent to challenge or test the limits of a historic alliance
that U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Thursday called "ironclad."
That
came the day after Duterte declared joint U.S.-Philippines war games starting
this week would be "the last."
The
Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement, signed a few days before Obama visited
the Philippines in 2014, allows U.S. troops to build storage facilities for
maritime security and humanitarian and disaster response operations.
It also
provides broad access to Philippine military bases.
Duterte
said the agreement would be reviewed because it was signed by the then
Philippine defense secretary and the U.S. ambassador, and not the country's
president.
Duterte
did not explicitly say that he would try to scrap the deal, but in comments aimed
at the United States, he said: "It does not bear the signature of the
president of the Republic of the Philippines ...
"Better
think twice now, because I would be asking you to leave the Philippines
altogether."
In a
response, the Pentagon said the United States and Philippines had a long
history of working together on security issues and that conversations between
Carter and his Philippine counterpart last week in Hawaii had been
"positive."
"We
will continue to honor our alliance commitments, and we expect the Philippines
to do the same," said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook. -reuters.com
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