Duterte still ‘hates’ the US but Phl interest comes first

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte clarified that his “hatred” against the US has not diminished but added that his personal issues against the Americans must be set aside in favor of national interest.
In an interview on Monday afternoon, Duterte said his earlier statement that he would ask the US government to help stop China from its incursions on disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea does not mean he has softened his stance against the Americans.
He said he would go to the US because it is only the Americans who are capable of stopping China from bullying Filipino fisherfolk in Palawan.
“The national interest will dictate it,” he said.
He said his hatred for the US government is “personal” while the West Philippine Sea crisis is of national interest.
“Whether I like the Americans or not personally, it is not the issue,” he said.
Duterte had had a falling out with the US government when agents of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) spirited American citizen Michael Terrence Meiring out of the city and the country in 2002 without approval from the Philippine government.
Meiring had been injured in an explosion inside Evergreen Hotel in Davao City. He claimed to be a treasure hunter but was later accused of being a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent.
On Monday, the mayor also clarified that going to the US is only a suggestion since it is the national government that should do it and not he.
Duterte is widely perceived to be aiming for the presidency, and issues like this are among the topics he discusses with various sectors.
In an interview earlier in the day, Duterte had said if given the chance, he will try to talk with the Chinese government “as a citizen of the Philippines” to tell it to stop its activities in the West Philippine Sea.
“If I can do it, why not? Sasabihin ko lang tama na (I will just tell them to stop it), you threaten the integrity of the country,” he said.
He said China has made Filipino fishermen afraid of fishing in the area. “They cannot fish there because China is claiming it. That is the source of the trouble,” he said.
In a statement issued yesterday, Duterte said now is the right time for the United States to show to its partners in South East Asia, especially the Philippines with which it has a Mutual Defense Treaty, that it could provide them protection against a military giant like China.
Duterte was in Mindoro as part of his nation-wide “Listening Tour” during which he advocates for a shift from the Presidential to a Parliamentary form of government.
His visit to Mindoro, however, comes at a time when the Philippines’ dispute with China is at its tipping point.
In a report, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) released on Monday new photos of the reclamation projects being done by Beijing in islets and atolls which are already well within the country’s 200-kilometer EEZ.
The reclamation, according to the AFP, has destroyed coral reefs with total damages placed at $100 million.
Vessels belonging to the Chinese Coast Guard were also involved in a water-hosing incident with small Filipino fishing boats which sailed in the country’s traditional fishing waters.
China is apparently turning coral reefs in the area into airstrips and small ports capable of handling military aircraft and ship, a move which has created tension among other claimant countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, and even Malaysia.