Duterte didn't mean 'separation' from US

Philippine officials yesterday sought to play down comments by President Rodrigo Duterte who announced his "separation" from the United States a day earlier, saying their country will maintain US trade and economic ties.

Duterte made his comments in Beijing, where he was paving the way for what he calls a new commercial alliance as relations with long-time ally Washington deteriorate.

He told Chinese and Philippine business people at a forum in the Great Hall of the People that America had "lost now".

"I've realigned myself in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world - China, Philippines and Russia. It's the only way.

"With that, in this venue, your honors, in this venue, I announce my separation from the United States. Both in military, not maybe social, but economics also."

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.

Trade Minister Ramon Lopez sought to explain Duterte's comments.

"Let me clarify. The president did not talk about separation," Lopez told CNN Philippines in Beijing.

"In terms of economic (ties), we are not stopping trade, investment with America. The president specifically mentioned his desire to strengthen further the ties with China and the ASEAN region which we have been trading with for centuries," he said, referring to the Association of South East Asian Nations.

He said the Philippines was "breaking being too much dependent on one side".

"But we definitely won't stop the trade and investment activities with the West, specifically the U.S."

Duterte's spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said the president's announcement was a "restatement" on his bid to chart an independent foreign policy.

Duterte wanted to "separate the nation from dependence on the US and the West and rebalance economic and military relations with Asian neighbors" like China, Japan and South Korea, Abella said in statement.

Underscoring that, the Chinese and Philippines defense ministers meet in Beijing on the sidelines of Duterte's visit, and pledged to restore security ties, China's Defence Ministry said.

Duterte's tone toward China is in stark contrast to the language he has used against the United States, after being infuriated by US criticism of his bloody war on drugs.

He has called US President Barack Obama a "son of a bitch" and told him to "go to hell". On Wednesday, about 1,000 anti-US protesters gathered outside the US Embassy in Manila calling for the removal of US troops from a southern island.

Hundreds of left-wing demonstrators burned a replica of the US flag at a rally in Manila yesterday as they called for an end to US military agreements.