Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte says he plans to send ships to assert his country's proper claims over parts of the South China Sea that are currently—and aggressively—claimed by China. Duterte has been hard to read regarding his stance toward China and the USA; my impression at this moment is that he's friends with neither, but in the recent past, Duterte has made moon-eyes at China while spurning America, so this latest statement seems like an about-face. Duterte may be pulling the same crazy-old-man stunt used by Ronald Reagan and, to a lesser extent, Donald Trump: keep your enemies wondering what your next move will be. China Uncensored's Chris Chappell has more:
As you saw, Chappell isn't optimistic that Duterte has it in him to actually confront China. This makes sense if Duterte thinks he can work out a Philippines-China relationship that's beneficial to the Philippines. Personally, I think Duterte is stupid to spurn the US and embrace China. I've said the same thing about Korea's global orientation, which also prioritizes China (the ROK's largest trading partner) over the US. Whatever the US's faults, it would be a much better trading partner than China. But, like an addict who can't quit his favorite drugs, South Korea can't quit China. What a waste.
Duterte is China's bitch. He hates the USA. Bad combination. What's been interesting to me is how many Filipinos have volunteered their view that Duterte has sold out the Philippines to China. He was extremely popular when elected, but now in his last year in office, the people can see what a duplicitous fool he is.
ReplyDeleteI try to avoid politics here, of course. Not really my business. Talk of a Manny Pacquiao presidency is interesting though. At least they'd have a "fighter" leading the country.