President Duterte has called on the United States to accord the Philippines a “little of respect.”

“For as long as I am there, do not treat us like a doormat because you’ll be sorry for it. I will not stick with you. I can always go to China, invite them. I have met (Russian Prime Minister Dmitry) Medvedev during the (ASEAN) Summit,” he said.

The US should “try to give us a little of respect” rather than a reprimand,” Duterte said.

“You want to oust me? You want to use the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency? Go ahead!” President Duterte dared the United States last Friday, saying: “What happens to me is really part of my destiny. If I am ousted, then that is part of my presidency.”

The Chief Executive, who marked his 100th day in office Friday, made the statement during the Banana Congress 2016 in SMX Convention Center in Davao City.

In his speech, Duterte launched fresh tirades against the US for criticizing his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs instead of helping the government deal with the problem.

He also again mentioned his intention of turning his back on the US in favor of partnership with China and Russia if the country’s long-time ally would continue to treat the Philippines like doormat.

But former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, 92, the Defense minister of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, suggested that President Duterte should stick with the United States, its long-time ally, and stop warming up to China and Russia.“China is going to be the past and America is the future.”

Enrile comments come in the face of President Duterte’s foreign policy shift as well as the Philippines’ failure to convince China to respect a United Nations arbitration court decision siding with the Philippines and rejecting the historical basis of China’s claim over contested areas in the West Philippine Sea.

He said the Philippines has military agreements with the US. These are the 61-year-old RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement, and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

On Duterte’s statement that he has crossed the Rubicon, Enrile said whether passing that line will turn out to be beneficial to the country or a source of danger is addressed to the leader.

“All I can say is that when you innovate and he (Duterte) is innovating, you have to be very, very cautious. It can bring glory or destruction. Whether his innovation will be for the benefit of the country or for its degradation, only the future can tell. Many times in the past, people embrace the bear or the dragon. They could either be eaten by the bear or burned by the dragon. We have to be careful,” he added.

The bear represents Russia while the dragon refers to China. The eagle represents the US. All three are military giants.

PH SUFFERING

As Duterte tries to distance himself from the US, he pointed out how the Philippines suffered during World War II because of the Americans.

“We sacrificed for you. You stayed here. You are still doing business here. Nilunokkonalangiyan. We suffered during the last Second World War because you were here,” he said.

“Had you not been here, we would not have experienced so much destruction in the country. The Battle of Manila – 200,000 Filipinos died because you were here,” the President added.

“So these are the things … do not forget, do not say it was 45 years ago, 60 years ago. In the relation between race and tribes, the past is as valid as the present. Assess yourselves because if you don’t, you will lose the Philippines,” he said.

Duterte likewise reiterated that the ongoing Amphibious Landing Exercise (Phiblex) would be the last war games between Philippines and US forces.

“The wargames are not a part of EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement), mind you. If you don’t look at it again, ask your lawyers because I have read it. The war games are not there in flat word which says that you can have it. This year would be the last, this year would be the last,” he stressed.

Sen. Gregorio Honasan, a former Army colonel and a close associate of Enrile in the successful push to oust then President Marcos from power in 1986, also recalled that the US had doled out billions of dollars to countries that hid then terrorist Osama bin Laden.

But he rued that the US only gave the Philippines $50 million in military aid  at that time. Retired military officers also noted that the old US vessels donated to the Philippines were stripped of important equipment.

Asked whether President Duterte knows this unequal treatment by the US on the Philippines, Honasan replied: “Could be, could be.”

THE DOWNSIDE

Enrile said that “China can be our friend but they have their own strategic interest (as) they need the West Philippine Sea (WPS) where both the Philippines and China are at loggerheads on their divergent territorial claims. The United Nations-back arbitral tribunal has already ruled in favor of the Philippines.

With a population of 1.3 billion and its only energy producing area is Manchuria, China needs the South China Sea contested by the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries, he said.

Enrile said the WPS has 132 billion barrels of proven crude reserve and 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas of proven reserve.

Asked whether China is the future and the US the past, Enrile said China “is going to be the past and America is the future.”

WHERE US STANDS

“America is self-sufficient. It has that body of land and water and ice from Argentina to the Artic Sea. Self-sufficient, they do not need the world. They are self-contained. They are the most gifted in this planet. They have plenty of waterways, plenty of arable lands, plenty of agricultural products to feed them, enough population and self-sufficient on energy. There is no country in this planet that can invade them. They can invade any part of the planet. What do we have?” he asked.

China, on the other hand, has a problem, and internally China is not what one perceives it to be, Enrile said.

“China is not a very unified country and the system of integration is military. China’s problem is the instability of its financial condition, its aging population due to its one-child policy. China depends on America… it was America that gave them their present economic well-being and it is China that is guarding their foreign trade because they do not have enough Navy. If China disengages from the world, there is a possibility that they will become isolationist again,” he added.

“In case of trouble, the weakness of China if somebody put battleships in the Persian Gulf to interdict the flow of oil, China will suffer because 80 percent of their energy comes from that part of the world,” he explained.

The military capability of Russia to help, on the other hand, is affected by its being surrounded by water “that will impair its capability to help any country.”

Vladivostok, Russia’s eastern warm water port, is considered “too distant’’ from Moscow as a train ride from Vladivostok to Moscow takes 10 days. It is located at China’s northeastern quadrant.

“We have to understand that Russia is no longer a Soviet Union, geographically, demographically, and economically,’’ he said.

On seeking friends other than the US, President Duterte should bear in mind that “each of these people hasits own obligation. Their latent undisclosed interest must be studied before you try to embrace them and become your friends so that you will not regret in the end.”

Enrile warned that “once you play the game of nations, once you are locked in, you cannot disengage just like that without any repercussions.”

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by Elena L. Aben and Mario B. Casayuran

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