During a speech by Preisdent Rodrigo Duterte in front of the Filipino community in Beijing, he declared that the Filipinos living in the United States are no longer considered real Filipinos but rather Americans.
“E sabihin niya (Obama), well there are many Filipinos there (living in the US). Eh wala na yun. Puro Amerikano na yun. Ugali noon,” said Duterte. “Oh bakit dito sa China, walang Pilipino? Sa mainland China about 300,000 Filipinos and yet China is very kind to us.”
A US diplomat shared his views on Duterte’s recent actions saying he was causing “consternation”, spreading confusion and disappointment among investors and various governments as he incessantly reiterates the separation of the Philippines with the US.
“This is not a positive trend,” Daniel Russel, the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said after conducting a meeting with Perceto Yasay, The Philippine Foreign Secretary. Russel also emphasized that this was “bad for the business”.
Duterte also shared his plans on further improving ties with Beijing, despite the South China Sea / West Philippine Sea dispute. He also noted that the declaration of separation with the US was not intended to sever ties but rather to adopt an independent foreign policy. What this means exactly is still up for debate.
Yasay said these decisions by the president were intended to “liberate us from a shackling dependency” on the US, clarifying that, despite the separation, treaties and agreements will continuously be honored. How these agreements will be honored was not clarified.
“Our thrust, however, in carrying out our independent foreign policy is to make sure that we will not have this kind of dependency or subservience that [has] always worked against the national interest.”
The statement from Duterte in regards the Filipino-Americans is the newest among his series of rants and tirades directed at the US. He also slammed POTUS Barack Obama and many others from the West who have criticized his bloody drug war.
However, Russel has tried to play down the idea that the US and the Philippines is experiencing a rift, saying:
“It is a mistake to think that improved relations between Manila and Beijing somehow comes at the expense of the United States. That’s not the way to think of it.”
“This should be additional not subtraction. We don’t want countries to choose between the U.S. and China.” He added.
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