Duterte praises China on Beijing visit

Manila / AFP

Visiting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had praise for China on Wednesday, setting aside a maritime dispute as the combative leader reconfigures his country’s diplomatic alliances.
The Asian giant was “good”, he said. “It has never invaded a piece of my country all these generations,” Duterte added in an apparent comparison to the Philippines’ former colonial ruler the United States.
“During the Cold War, China was portrayed as the bad guy,” he added. “And all of these years, what we have read in our books in school were all propaganda produced by the West.”
Duterte is in China for a four-day trip that is expected to confirm his tilt away from Washington and towards Beijing’s sphere of influence.
Foreign policy under Duterte has dramatically shifted from that pursued under predecessor Benigno Aquino, who took Beijing to an international tribunal over its extensive territorial claims in the South China Sea and won a resounding victory.
The move infuriated Beijing. But Duterte, who took office in June shortly before the tribunal ruling, has made a point of not flaunting the outcome, even though China seized Scarborough Shoal—a fishing ground within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone—in 2012.
The judgement, Duterte said, was “a piece of paper with four corners”. “The arbitral award gives us the right. China has the historical right. And they’re insisting. In this situation, do we argue, or do we just talk? I would say, let us put it (off) to some other day.”
As Duterte has cosied up to Beijing, he has repeatedly denounced the United States and President Barack Obama for criticising his deadly war on crime.
He has also suspended joint US-Philippine patrols in the South China Sea, and has threatened an end to joint military exercises.
The South China Sea is of intense interest to Washington and it has repeatedly spoken out on the various territorial disputes between China and its neighbours over the strategically vital waters.
Tensions have risen between the US and China over Washington’s so-called “pivot” to the Asia-Pacific, a move that Beijing says is intended to contain it.
Duterte will meet top leaders including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang during his stay.
Hours before he spoke, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular briefing that Beijing was pleased to move towards resolving the territorial dispute “through consultation and dialogue”.

Philippine
police van runs over protesters

Manila / AFP

A Philippine police van on Wednesday rammed and ran over baton-wielding protesters outside the US embassy in Manila. Police used tear gas and truncheons to try to disperse hundreds of people who had gathered in support of President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent comments that he wanted to loosen his nation’s alliance with the United States.
A total of 23 protesters were arrested, said Chief Inspector Arsenio Riparip, one of the officers overseeing the incident.