Duterte Breaks Up with Washington

[Valin]

Via Meadia:

Sean Keeley

Oct. 20 2016

 

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte did not mince words in China, announcing a definitive break with the United States:

 

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Duterte’s comments in China are his most straightforward declaration of a re-alignment yet. Since he took office in June, the Philippine President has alarmed Washington with his anti-American rhetoric, threats to end military cooperation with the United States, and willingness to negotiate with China on the South China Sea. Ahead of his trip to Beijing, experts in Washington have been debating how serious Duterte’s overtures to China are. Now they have an answer.

 

What remains to be seen is how Philippine elites will react to Duterte’s single-handedly redefining Philippine foreign policy. Bureaucrats in Manila have several times tried to walk back the President’s incendiary comments, and there have already been complaints from top-ranking officials that Duterte is acting on his own. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, for instance, claimed that Duterte did not consult his cabinet before stating that he would end joint military exercises with the U.S.

 

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[Valin]

Asian dominoes in the Age of Obama
Paul Mirengoff
November 1, 2016

Under Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the U.S. “pivoted” to Asia. Unfortunately, Asia seems now to be pivoting away from the U.S.

As noted here, the Philippines, under its president Rodrigo Duterte, has turned away from America and towards to China. Duterte explained:

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Malaysia seems to agree. Calling himself “a true friend of China, its prime minister Najib Razak arrived in China yesterday promising significantly closer defense ties with the Asian giant. Indeed, he is set to sign a major naval with China, said to be the first significant military agreement between the two countries.

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Other Asian nations perceive it too. Vietnam, unwilling until recently to tilt towards China, is seeking new ties with its old enemy. The Vietnamese prime minister visited China in September. And Thailand’s military government is buying submarines from China.

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[Valin]

Via Meadia

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The Malaysian pivot to China is especially embarrassing given President Obama’s clear efforts to court Najib. In 2014, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Malaysia in nearly 50 years; later that year, Najib was the president’s golf buddy during his vacation in Hawaii. Yet that personal outreach cannot disguise the fact that the promises of the Obama administration’s pivot, particularly the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), have failed to come through. Like Duterte, Najib has apparently made the calculation that Beijing has more to offer than Washington—and unlike Duterte, this decision cannot be dismissed as the impulses of an anti-American demagogue.

 

China is swiftly rolling out the red carpet for America’s would-be allies across Asia. Even as Najib is in Beijing, President Xi Jinping is meeting with Myanmar’s top military man, Min Aung Hiang. Obama has prided himself on improving relations on Myanmar and even lifted American sanctions on the country in September, but Beijing is making a play for its affections as well. If the United States is not careful, even more Asian countries could slip into Beijing’s orbit.