Duterte announces separation from US, shifts to China, Russia
Members of the Philippine community in Beijing cheer during a meeting with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, center, in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016. Duterte's effusive message of friendship on his visit to Beijing this week has handed China a public relations bonanza just three months after Beijing suffered a humiliating defeat by an international tribunal.
Ng Han Guan/AP Photo
By Andreo Calonzo | Bloomberg | Published: October 20, 2016
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he wants to break away from the U.S. and shift toward China and Russia, his strongest comments yet signaling a split with his nation's biggest military ally.
"In this venue, I announce my separation from the U.S.," Duterte said in Beijing on Thursday after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping. Duterte also said he might go to Russian President Vladimir Putin and tell him "there's three of us against the world."
The announcement came in front of a packed room of Filipino and Chinese business leaders. The tough-talking 71-year-old leader has repeatedly questioned his nation's alliance with the U.S. while touting the economic benefits of friendlier ties with Beijing.
Earlier, China announced a resumption of bilateral talks on disputed territory in the South China Sea, an issue that had previously pushed the Philippines closer to America. China's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Liu Zhenmin told reporters that the two leaders had agreed to return to a "track of dialogue" over the South China Sea in what is a "new stage of maritime cooperation."
"China has been a friend of the Philippines and the roots of our bonds are very deep and not easily severed," Duterte said in a speech at the Great Hall of the People after meeting Xi for 30 minutes. "Even as we arrived in Beijing close to winter, this is a springtime of our relationship," he said.
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