Duterte: PH won't join US in any wars, unless Filipinos 'under threat'

[Pinoy]

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

THE United States would not receive any help from the Philippines in any of its battles, unless the Filipino people are under "direct threat," President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday, March 20.

Speaking before the Philippine National Police Academy's (PNPA) Maragtas Class of 2018, the President said he would not allow the Philippine troops to join the US army in battles, emphasizing that the Philippines gained nothing but a mere "brutality and agony" from the joint expedition.

"I am addressing America right now, whatever expeditions that you will conduct, any wars that you will fight in any other countries, count us out. We did not get anything all these years of sacrifice, except brutality and agony. We will stand on our own," Duterte told the graduates of PNPA's Maragtas Class.

"So if that's the case, unless we are threatened directly, there will be no more joint expedition, at least during my watch. Just wait until I step down," he added.

The Philippines and the US have been treaty allies since the two nations signed Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951. On August 31, 1951, the two countries inked the treaty to bolster their defense and security cooperation.

An Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement was also signed in 2014 by the Philippines and the US to boost the allies between the two countries. Duterte said that during his watch, the Philippines would exercise its independence, especially that the nation had been under American colonial rule.

"We will never beg for any help. Sometimes, it could mean really the dignity of the people," he said.

"We have been enslaved by two countries in succession: Spaniards for 400 years and Americans for 50 years. That's enough. You have had your fill. Do not ask for more," he added.

Duterte has been critical of the US after former American President Barack Obama criticized the Philippines' anti-drug campaign. He, however, has mended ties with the most powerful nation when Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. (SunStar Philippines)

Read more: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/lo...any-wars-unless-filipinos-under-threat-594814

 

[Kiss_of_the_Dragon]

What a courageous man with great speech, tumb up for Duterte , Definitively China need a man like him as friend, when Philippine people respect themselves with dignity and not be a lap dog of other nation, they deserve our respect.

 

[cirr]

A true statesman who speaks his mind.

 

[terranMarine]

And that's exactly how it should be, he refuses to being used as a disposable pawn. Unlike India who seems very eager to die in America's place

 

[8888888888888]

Well said the Philippines is independent.

 

[Skull and Bones]

He is right, countries should look at their own interests.

 

[rott]

What a courageous man with great speech, tumb up for Duterte , Definitively China need a man like him as friend, when Philippine people respect themselves with dignity and not be a lap dog of other nation, they deserve our respect.

Do you remember a member called @Zero_wing or something? I wonder what happened to him/her.

 

[q12093487q]

Do you remember a member called @Zero_wing or something? I wonder what happened to him/her.

He disappeared just after Duterte became president ，what a coincidence！

 

[siegecrossbow]

He disappeared just after Duterte became president ，what a coincidence！

Are you trying to imply that he was a drug trafficker?

 

[jetray]

He is right, countries should look at their own interests.

Of course , but the problem is that being too selfish has its own peril. By the time they come for Philippines there wont be any one to ask help for. Its the same old story when you keep quiet when your neighbors are dragged to death there wont be any neighbors to ask for help when they come for you.

 

[CAPRICORN-88]

China says to have 'prudent' oil exploration with Philippines

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will prudently advance cooperation with the Philippines on joint oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea, China’s top diplomat State Councillor Wang Yi said on Wednesday after meeting his Philippine counterpart.


Any potential deals between Manila and Beijing on energy exploration in the disputed waterway should be agreed with a company and not the Chinese government, a senior Philippine official said earlier this month.

China claims most of the South China Sea, a key trade route and home to areas that are believed to hold large quantities of oil and natural gas. Along with China, parts of the South China Sea are subject to competing claims from Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The two countries in February agreed to set up a special panel to work out how they can jointly explore offshore oil and gas in areas both sides claim, without needing to address the touchy issue of sovereignty.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing after meeting Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Wang said the South China Sea will be turned into a source of friendship and cooperation.

“We will enhance maritime dialogue and pursue equal footed and friendly consultation and in a prudent and steady way advance cooperation on offshore oil and gas exploration,” Wang said, without giving details.

However, pursuing a joint project would be extremely complex and sensitive, as sharing oil and gas reserves could be seen as endorsing the other countries’ claims.


“The Philippines and China are finding a common legal framework to conduct joint exploration and surveys. And with our discussions today I’m confident that we will find a suitable legal framework for our differences,” Cayetano said.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has said China has proposed joint exploration that was “like co-ownership” and better than the two fighting over it.


The Philippines suspended exploration in the Reed Bank in 2014 to pursue a legal challenge to China’s territorial claims.

Included in a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague was a clarification of Manila’s sovereign right to access offshore oil and gas fields, including the Reed Bank, within its 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone.

The Philippines, China’s CNOOC Ltd (0883.HK) and state-owned PetroVietnam jointly surveyed the Reed Bank from 2003 to 2008.

The Philippines’ ties with China have warmed under Duterte, who has put aside territorial disputes in exchange for trade opportunities and pledged financing for infrastructure projects.

Cayetano said Duterte would visit China next month to attend an economic forum on the southern island province of Hainan and meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Reporting by Ben Blanchard, editing by David Evans


https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...il-exploration-with-philippines-idUSKBN1GX1WO

 

[terranMarine]

Are you trying to imply that he was a drug trafficker?

, nah Zero Wing vanished completely and immediately after news broke out that Duterte won the election. If he was a drug trafficker he would have showed up here for a while before Duterte initiated the hunt. I have a strong feeling that account was used for propaganda purpose here, so when Duterte would be ruling PH it lost purpose to keep the propaganda going thus disappeared into the shadow

 

[TaiShang]

Impressive sign of independence. This sort of behavior indeed elicits China's respect and cooperation. This spirit, once regionalized, can make any waters, both in the East and South, the waters of all, regardless of historical claims and past grievances.

For one, China is able to put the entire dispute in the backburner for at least a generation to come.

 

[rott]

Are you trying to imply that he was a drug trafficker?